Out of the blue
by lexiepedia
Summary: Steve and Kono met before Steve returned to the Island of Hawaii, when he literally ran into her on the beach. How will this affect their storyline through the seasons? It all comes down to when Steve is Kidnapped in North Korea by Wo Fat. Will they make it through all the additons to team and disappearing acrt?
1. Chapter 1

Kono was the last thing that entered his mind before everything went black. How simply her beautiful dimply smile, that was the first thing he saw when he woke up in the mornings, could take his breath away. How every time he had a nightmare about his time in the SEALs, she would let him lay his head on her chest as she ran her fingers through his hair and listened as he would open up to her. She was the only person that had ever seen him cry, she was the only one he would let see him cry. She was the most important person in his life and he thanked his lucky stars every time he went to bed and the last thing he saw was her sleeping face.

They had met two years before he moved back home to Hawaii when he had been on leave in Australia. He was originally there to meet up with Catherine but she had cancelled at the last minute, leaving him alone in a foreign city. But then he ran into Kono, like literally ran into. He was walking along the beach and not looking where he was going when he smashed right into a tiny, warm and practically naked body. He caught himself at the last moment and grabbed her upper arms to prevent her from falling on her arse, then when he looked into her face he was awestruck. She was beautiful. Her dark hair hung in wet tresses framing her long and slightly round, innocent face. But her eyes were anything but innocent, there was this fire in them that told him there was so much more to her than what meets the eye. They stood there looking at each other in silence for several seconds before one of her friends cleared their throat awkwardly and they snapped out of it. As soon as he got her name he had turned on the charm and asked her out for a beer, not ready to let her go just yet, to which she had agreed with a slight blush.

He let her lead the way to the closest bar since he still knew next to nothing about this town. They got a table by a window overlooking the beach and a beer, from there it was smooth sailing. When he found out that she was also from Hawaii he wanted to throw his head back and laugh, what were the odds that he would run into a girl from back home on the other side of the world? The time slipped away from them and before they knew it, it was dark outside and the bar was closing up. But neither had want the night to end so they had taken a walk along the beach back to his hotel, where somewhere along the way he had taken her hand in his. A kiss before they were about to part ways lead to another and another and soon they found themselves in his room with clothes coming off. When he woke up the next morning she was still there and they ended up spending the rest of his leave together, getting to know each other.

For the first time in his life when his leave was up he didn't want to go back, he found something else that mattered to him, but he had no choice. She had followed him to the airport and waved him off and as soon as the gate closed he already longed for the next time he got to see her. After that he would call her at every chance he got and the boys would tease him when he got back afterwards with a goofy grin on his face. But he didn't care, because every time he got to hear her sweet voice telling him about her life he could imagine what it would be like if he was there with her. One word from her and a crap-ass day got so much better.

It took five months until he saw her again after their first run in, they had just finished an assignment and had gotten 48 hours to spend with their loved ones. He was on the first plane to California where he knew she had a surf-competition and twelve hours later he was standing on the beach waiting impatiently, rocking at the balls of his feet, for her to come out of the water. As soon as she was out of the water he took off for her without a moment's hesitation. He walked in a quick, determined stride and when she saw him coming she froze in her spot for a few seconds before she sprinted towards him. She threw herself into his arms and he gladly caught her, he held her so tight he was afraid he would break her but at the moment he did not care, he was finally home.

That night when they laid in bed looking out the window, her back pressed up against his chest, he told her that he loved her and she had the same thing back. It had been like music to his ear. They had stayed like that in their embrace for the reminder of the night just talking, kissing, touching and when the morning came they were both dead tired and it was time for him to leave again. But just a few weeks later her accident happened.

He was watching it on the internet with the guys, feeling immensely proud every time they awed. But then it happened. Something went wrong and she went under with the wave. He watched with his heart in his stomach as she didn't resurface and how the lifeguards a few minute later dragged up her tiny body to the beach. The feed ended there and started to prepare for the next heat but he was not watching, he was replaying the scene over and over again in his head. He tried calling and calling her but he got no answer, it took several hours before she finally picked up and she was wrecked. She was sobbing in his ear and sounded so broken he almost cried as well. All he wanted was to be there with her, to hold her and comfort her, but instead he was stuck across the globe.

He tried to be there for her as much as he could, but with her family and his job it became almost impossible. They had some silent agreement that they would keep their relationship a secret to prevent outside interference, what they had was something intimate and private, something beautiful between just the two of them. So seeing her even if would be able to get leave wasn't an option. Since he couldn't get leave his superior gave him special privilege when it came to the phone so that he could check up on her, and everyday he spoke with her she sounded a little bit better. It amazed him how strong she really was, despite how much pain she was in and how sad she was, she pulled herself together, got out of bed and went to rehab. She was determined to get better and walk again, and to see that fire come back again was incredible.

He didn't get to see her until a year later when he went back to Hawaii for his father's funeral. She met him at the airbase with her arms open and as soon as she had her arms around him he broke down in the secrecy of her neck. He let the tears come and let himself be comforted by her hands running over his back and through his hair. She kept whispering soothing words in his ear and when he stopped crying he pulled her into a passionate kiss, which was long overdue, and just held her as he breathed in the familiar Hawaiian air, he was convinced there was something about the air here that just smelled like home.

And that had been when their life together really took off. He accepted the governor's job offer to lead her task force and Kono had become a rookie that was thrown into his arms by her cousin Chin. It worked out just fine, they were still keeping their relationship a secret, this time not for privacy but for safety from the men that were coming after his family. At work they were teammates and friends but every night they would end up at either's house and fall sleep in each other's arms. Everything went south though when she lost her badge. She stopped coming over at night, she ignored his phone calls and every time he went over there she refused to open the door or speak to him. He could stand out there and knock on the door for half an hour and call out for her but was only met by silence. On the few occasions that he managed to catch her on her way out she would act cold and try to brush him off. Hearing from Chin that she was hanging out with dirty ex-cops and thinking that was all she was good for was like a punch to the gut. Every night when he went to bed alone he felt like screaming or hitting something, he was losing the girl he loved and the pain that came with that was excruciating. When he later on found out what it was all about, he did not know if he should be angry with her or kiss the life out of her, but he ends up taking care of her and smothering her after she was shot.

Things had just began getting back to normal when Jenna showed up again, she was getting back to the team and adapting to Lori, and now the last thing he had seen before going to sleep was Jenna Kay and the first thing he saw when he woke up was Wo Fat. He was hanging by his wrist from a chain fastened in the ceiling, the room he was in was dirty old bunker made out of concrete, about the size of Kono's house, something he always liked to tease her about. The sun was streaming in through a small window and the other side of the room, illuminating the dirty floor below him that his toes barely touched.

The pain was like nothing he had ever felt before. His arms felt like they were going to fall off at any second, his face was swollen and bleeding. But the pain in his ribs had to be the worst, he didn't know just how many blows he had taken to his chest but he was sure there would be bruises to last him a life time. He was five seconds away from passing out when the door to the room opened and in came Jenna, landing in a heap on the dirty floor. The only thing that came to mind when he saw her was one simple word.

"Why?"

"I didn't have a choice." She choked out but there was no part of him that was able to feel sympathetic for her right now. She had sided with Wo Fat and sold him out, taking him away from his family. "He said Josh was alive!"

"And you just took his word for it?!" Trading him for Josh? Her love against his.

"He had pictures and his ring."

"So you decided to trade me for him?"

She started talking about fighters and about the night he proposed to her and go into an accident on his bike. He could see the love she had for him and why she thought that justified her actions, but it didn't stop him from being angry with her for getting him involved. She then filled in the blanks of how she had gotten in contact with Wo Fat and that's when he realised she had been set up and used to get to him.

"The reporter, was it Bethany Morris?"

"How did you know?"

"Because they killed her. Snapped her neck." When she heard that she broke down and let out a sob.

The door opened yet again and in came Wo Fat and he looked nothing but determined. He got a punch right in the face as greeting, his fist crashing right into his jaw that was already swollen. Then one to the gut and then another one. There was only one reason why he was here. Shelburne. He kept asking him questions, which to most he really didn't have an answer, because let's be honest he didn't know much about Shelburne either, Joe seemed to sit on all the answers. He was beaten, electrocuted and he had bones and limbs being twisted around, all in front of Jenna who sat cowering in the corner to be as invisible as possible.

Wo Fat was just about to give him a good beating after being arrogant with his answers and talking back, he felt like a five year old being scolded but with fists, when one of his men came in and held up a familiar device in his hand. It was his and Jenna's sat-phone. He and Jenna looked at each other, talking without words, they both knew what was coming. Jenna slid something across the slippery floor before saying it wasn't for nothing. Looking down at his feet he found a nail, a nail that would be his escape. Wo Fat walked with determined steps over to Jenna, and even though he knew what was going to happen it was still a shock when he pulled out the gun and pulled the trigger three times. He just watched her body lying there on the floor in shock. That did not just happen. He lashed out at Wo Fat and tried to reach him despite his restrains, kicking and screaming.

Taking him to Shelburne? He could forget it, he wouldn't give the man the pleasure even if he could. As soon as he left the room he used his toes to curl around the nail before using the last bit of strength he had, to pull himself up so that he could grab the nail with his fingers. He ignored the stabbing pain in his chest as he played Spiderman on the chain something he would probably have to pay for later, but right now he was running on adrenaline and rage. Using the nail he quickly picked the lock and he was free from his restrains. Now all he had to do was get out of here. That should be easy right?

He snuck out to the hallway outside of his cell, aware of shadows and potential dangers. He reached the ladder before he was surprised by the first guy and took him down pretty easily. A few seconds later he saw another shadow an up behind him. Two men where now lying on the floor unconscious. He took on of the guns and started to climb the latter, pushing open the door at the top he almost cried at site of freedom. But he didn't get far. Two steps out the door he was surrounded by men and hit in the back of his head.

He was thrown into the back of a truck with a closed lid so he couldn't see a thing of what was happening outside. The ride was bumpy and he was thrown back and forth for a long time before they came to an abrupt halt. Then there was gunfire from every direction but he didn't bother trying to see what it was. He was starting to give up, the pain was getting to him and he was all out of adrenaline, whatever happens, happens. The fire ceased and it was quiet for a few minutes until he was blinded by the strong sunlight, he blinked a few times trying to adjust to the light and there was Danny screaming his name. Danny helped him out of his bindings and then Chin and Joe showed up, his team had come for him. That's when it hit him, Kono. Was she here too? Had Chin really been stupid enough to bring her along on this suicide mission? But then again if it had been her needing saving there would be no stopping him, so he figured she was around somewhere, almost hoping.

Danny and Chin where on either side of him as they threaded through the jungle with the other guys covering their front and hide. When they got to a clearing a helicopter neared them and he could almost cry out in relief, they were going home. Next thing he knew he was ambushed by a pair of tiny arms and for a second he thought it could be Kono but then he got hit by their scent and there was no way that could be Kono. Kono smelled like the ocean and some exotic flower that was everywhere on the island, but this scent was to sweet and heavy and nothing like Kono's. Breaking away he saw Lori with tears in her eyes as she stroked his cheek.

He knew she had developed some kind of crush on him, or he believed it first now. It had been a subject at home between him and Kono, or more of a joke that the new girl had got a crush on him, swooning over his badass tactics. He said she was imagining things and she had just laughed at him and said he was clueless when it came to reading women and that it was a miracle he had managed to catch her. But he didn't need to read women, he just needed to read her and it was a miracle that he had gotten her.

Trying his best not to cringe at her touch he shot a grateful thought to Wade for interrupting and let himself be carried on to the helicopter. He leaned back against Joe's legs and accepted the rifle that was handed to him, it made him feel a little bit safer and more in control of the situation. He laughed at the familiar nagging and bantering from Danny after Chin announced his engagement, he felt so relieved at being back with the guys. Lori was sitting in the front twisting in her seat to be a part of the interaction. He liked Lori, she turned out to be alright, but at the moment he wished more than anything that she was Kono instead.

With a little help from the guys he managed to get off the helicopter without too much pain, but as soon as his feet touched the ground he started to look around the green area they were in. She couldn't not have come right? No matter how much he wanted her safe and unharmed he needed her, he needed to hold her and really feel that everything was going to be alright. He was possessive and a needy man when you got to his core. And then he saw her, she was running down from a worn out lanai that looked like it was five seconds from falling apart and she was heading straight towards him. He met her halfway, ignoring everyone's surprised stares and open mouths, and caught her in his arms as she came barrelling into him. He held her closely to his chest and breathed in her lovely scent, he ran his hand all over her back, through her hair and she did the same to him, both of them reassuring themselves that they were really here.

"Don't you ever do that to me again, Koa!" She cried into his shoulder and he held her a little bit tighter before tipping up her chin and pressing his lips against hers. He could hear whistles and surprised protests from around them, but all that mattered were the sounds coming from Kono. She kissed him back just as fiercely, pouring everything into it. When they broke away for air he leaned his forehead against hers and looked into her chocolate brown pools.

"I promise!"

The lack of air to his lungs might not have been the best thing considering his body's state and he could feel himself sway a little, but before he could fall over Kono had steered him over to a box and helped him sit down. Joe came over with a bottle of water, which he happily downed in a gulp, but never once did he let go of Kono's hand, forcing her to sit next to him on the box. When her other hand came up and covered them he pressed a kiss to her forehead and threw an arm around her shoulders.

They sat like that as the others packed up all their things in their own little bubble, not even noticing the stares they got from their friends. Chin was just shaking his head and smiling, with himself in love and nauseously happy he couldn't help but want everyone else to be as well. Danny was looking at them like he couldn't believe them, if it was the fact that they were even together or if it was the fact that they had kept it a secret and not told him they didn't know, but knowing Danny it was probably a little bit of both. Lori watched them from a distance but never took her eyes off of them, she looked mostly shocked and maybe a little hurt even though she did her best to hide it from showing. Joe just looked at them in amusement. He had known for a long time, ever since he was Steve's commanding officer, it had not really been a secret between the boys that Steve had someone at home. But it had been fun watching them keeping it a secret and how their teammates were so blind that they didn't pick up on it, they must have slipped up at times when they got worried or hurt, at least Steve.

Eventually they were finally done and they were on their way back to the airport to catch a flight back home where he would get medical attention. They had barely gotten onto the plane before he fell asleep in his seat, all the excitement from the day finally catching up with him. He was resting his head against Kono's chest as she made him feel peaceful by stroking her hand through his hair. It felt so domestic and reminded him of the times they lay in bed and talked about everything from heaven to earth. He was indeed asleep within seconds.

sSsSsSsSsSs

As she watched him sleep in the hospital bed she couldn't feel anything but relief, relief that he was safe, that he was finally home. When they had asked her, or more like demanded, that she would be the one to stay behind and manage the computers she wanted to scream. How was it fair that the girl who had been on the team for all of five minutes, that had a crush on her boyfriend and their boss, got front row seats and she was benched? She had wisely enough kept her mouth shut and got to work, but not being out in the field gave her a lot of extra time to worry, which was the last thing she needed. Ever since they found out that Jenna Kay had never left the island like she said, she had gone into an internal panic.

She had followed everything that was being said over the radio and couldn't help but feel a little sad when she heard that Jenna was dead, though it wasn't too surprising considering they were dealing with Wo Fat. For a second there when she heard the bunker was empty she started thinking that maybe he was gone too, no matter how much she hated herself for it, the thought would not leave her mind. That maybe this time Wo Fat got one over on him and that that was all it took after their cat and mouse game. But then she got a hit on the computer and her hope returned.

As soon as she had heard the helicopter approach she let go of everything she was working on and rushed around to the back just in time to see it land. When she saw his face she could not hold back the tears and when his arms embraced her everything felt right in the world again.

She had been at the hospital for three straight days now, taking showers in Steve's adjoining bathroom and taking naps, she couldn't call it sleeping, in a somewhat comfortable chair by his bedside. He had been asleep for the most part, which the doctors said was good and would help his body heal, he needed rest and not move around so much. The injuries he sustained weren't too bad, a lot of bruises and three cracked ribs, but the torture he had been put through really took its toll on his body. Danny and Chin had tried several times to get her to go home and at least get some proper sleep, saying Steve would be furious if he knew she wasn't taking care of herself, but she had downright refused and proceeded to take another coffee to stay awake.

A familiar hand came to rest on her shoulder and she felt the presence of her cousin behind her, it was comforting and she felt herself relax a little, sitting up really wasn't doing her any good. Chin grabbed another chair and sat down next to her, watching Steve sleep.

"I think it's about time we had a talk, don't you?" There was no animosity or resentment, just friendly curiosity. She turned towards him and he was looking at her expectantly.

"Yeah, I suppose it is."

"How long?"

"4 years." She turned back to Steve and couldn't help but smile as she thought back on their time together. "We met in Melbourne when I was there for the Rip-Curl, he was there on leave and after he ran into me we had a beer and one thing lead to another. He's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"That's really good cus!"

"I'm sorry we didn't say anything but he thought it was safer if we didn't, considering everything."

His hand squeezed hers reassuringly and she couldn't help but smile at him. Her sweet understanding cousin, always there when she needed him. But no matter how calm and understanding her cousin was, she never expected him to be okay with it. She had thought though, that despite everything, he would give her a lecture about family value. But when it didn't come she couldn't help but be a little surprised. Firstly, he was never accepting of her boyfriends and secondly, he despised secrets.

"He's a good guy Kono. I could think of a lot worse for you to end up with."

And that was the end of that conversation. They quickly moved on to other subjects, like his engagement. She wanted to know absolutely everything. Like the how, when and where, what her reaction was and the truth about why they broke up in the first place. She felt a little bit guilt for not being as involved in a cousin's life lately, even after she was reinstated. But her life had been so hectic lately with trying to get back to the team, recover from the gunshot wound and smooth everything over with Steve that her cousin's love life had been the last thing on her mind. After Chin's dismissal from the force Malia went from being a person she admired to a coward, she had never seen the entire picture and it had been easier to blame Malia then Chin. But seeing them together after so long it made her realise just how strong they were and she couldn't be happier for them.

He stuck around for a while before she convinced him to go home and spend some time with Malia. They caught up with each other and made up for the last few weeks and when he got up and left things were finally starting to feel normal between them again. She turned her back towards the bed and as soon as the door closed behind him, movement from the bed caught her attention.

"The best thing that's ever happened to you ay?" A smirk crossed his beat up but handsome face and she could only gape at him in surprise.

"You've been awake this whole time?! Why didn't you say anything?"

"It looked like you guys needed a little time to yourselves." He opened his eyes and looked at her softly with those clear blue eyes that sometimes reminded her of the ocean. Taking his hand she scooted closer to the bed and leaned in so their faces were just a few inches apart. This was the first time in three days that they had really been alone, every time he had awoken up Chin, Danny and Lori had been there as well, but now it was just the two of them.

"I've missed you!" She whispered while taking in every aspect of his face, every cut that was slowly healing and the slight stubble that was starting to grow. His stubble was a personal favourite of hers, it made him look even rougher than he already did but as the trained NAVY-seal he was he always remembered to shave, a real pity in her books.

"Come here!" He pulled her even closer and she was about to lean in as well, wanting nothing more than to kiss him, when he pulled back and frowned. His eyes scanned her face and his frown set even deeper. She didn't look that bad, did she? She had showered this morning and combed her hair afterwards. "You look terrible."

"Wow, thank you! A I-have-missed-you-too would have been enough."

"When was the last time you slept?" His voice was stern and commanding, which was not a good thing.

"Steve I'm fine!"

"You should go home!" Leave? Was he really crazy? Had he hit his head? She was not going anywhere without him, she had just gotten him back.

"I'm not leaving until you are discharged and I get to take you home!"

"Then get a doctor so that we can leave. You need to sleep!"

She just shook her head and did was she was told. As soon as the doctor walked into the room Steve was onto him about getting out of her, saying he felt much better but she doubted that was the truth. The doctor just smiled, familiar with Commander McGarrett's tendencies to go straight back to work after an accident. He did his tests and ten minutes later she was leading the most stubborn man to her car to drive him home. He was wearing a smug smile, while she was grumbling under her breath. They wouldn't even be through the door before he commanded her to go to bed, he probably would carry her if he could. But if she was honest she wouldn't have it any other way.


	2. Chapter 2

He woke up by the sunlight streaming in through the window, irritating his eyes. Groaning over the lack of sleep he reluctantly gave in and opened his eyes. They had gotten in really late last night after closing up their latest case, it had been close to dawn when they finally crawled into bed. Next to him Kono was soundly asleep with her back to him and he couldn't help but smile. For the last three weeks she had stayed with him day and night, and if he was being honest he kind of liked, no loved the idea of her in his bed and dreaded the day she would go back to her place.

Wrapping his arms around her waist she pulled her closer and buried his face in her neck. His hand travelled under the hem of his old navy shirt that she had snagged some time ago and ghosted over the skin of her stomach. He loved being with Kono like this, free and loving. He had never been known for being affectionate and he had considered himself independent, but then he hadn't known Kono. Since he met her he found himself wanting to touch her all the time, a stroke to her cheek, holding her hand or best of all, holding her in his arms. It was like he needed to be close to her. She came into his life and turned everything upside down, everything he knew suddenly was no more. He could feel her starting to stir under his touch so he planted a kiss on her neck for good measure and held onto her just a little bit tighter.

"Good morning!" She croaked out and buried her face in her pillow.

"Mhm, morning Beautiful!" He murmured into her neck and started planting kisses up and down her neck. She sighed and lay her hands over his on her stomach. He kissed further down her neck, down her shoulder and up to her ear where he nibbled on her earlobe. Turning in his arms she looked up at him through heavy eyelids and her brown doe-eyes were full of sleep. She smiled that beautiful smile of hers that followed him in his dreams and his hand couldn't stop itself from ghosting over her cheek. His lips found hers and just as things were heating up there was a loud banging at the front door. Groaning he kissed her again and tried to ignore the sound and distract Kono from reacting but when it sounded again she pushed him off her and went to get out of bed.

"Yo Steve! Let's go we have the press-release with the governor in an hour!" Came Danny's annoying voice from outside. He knew he should have shot him when he had a chance. Grumbling he got out of bed and got dressed. He absolutely hated journalists and publicity and today he had to stand in front of the camera as the Governor bragged about their success. The day was going to suck enough without him being blocked by his partner, he had at least hoped for a morning in bed with his girl but of course something had to ruin it.

They had to stand there on the podium and listen at some speech about Hawaii not being taken advantage of anymore. And as if that wasn't enough he had to watch Danny in his ridiculous tie and Kono agreeing that ties are hot. He couldn't be in a worse mood. Things does not improve when he goes to see Joe for his hearing, feeling somewhat majorly responsible for his dismissal from the force. He was the reason he went to North Korea and risked everything in the first place. When he then gets a call in the middle of it all about a kidnapping of a school bus full of kids he's on the verge of breaking. It was all little things but it drove him crazy and put him in a terrible mood.

When he arrived at the school the yard was packed with worried, frantic parents and HPD. They were all asking a million questions at a time and Kono was in the middle of it all with a weird expression on her face. He knew this were getting to her just like it got to everyone else. Kidnapping overall was tough but when it involved kids it was almost unbearable, you felt so hopeless as you tried to figure out the who and the why with no leads and the sad thing was that it was never the kids' fault, it was more often than not the parents. When he reached Kono her grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side, taking comfort in her presence.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah! You got something I can tell them?" She nodded towards the parents and he could see it pained her not being able to them or make them feel better, but there really wasn't anything you could say that would help except that you have found their kids.

"I need you to run a background check on every single one of these parents."

"You think one of them could be involved?"

"I don't know! But it's no coincidence that they hijacked a bus from high priced private school. These kids were targeted and we need to find out why!" He sighed. He was exhausted, his head was full with thoughts of Wo Fat and Shelburne and this kidnapping was hitting close to home. This was not his day and being cock-blocked by Danny this was morning was still rubbing him the wrong way. He was frustrated and just being this close to Kono, even without touching her was torture, all he wanted to do was drag her off to a secluded corner and have his way with her.

When Chin came out with Danny and Lori on his tail saying they got a lead he reluctantly stepped away from Kono and ignored the look Lori sent his way. He didn't have the time or energy to deal with her feelings right now. They speed off and he managed to take out his frustration on the car instead, scaring the crap out of Danny as he drove ahead and cut off a speeding truck. But when they found Nakoa at the back of the truck among the pineapples it came back in full force. He could hear how angry he sounded as he ordered them to find out where he had been the last two days. Everything was slipping out of his hands and he wanted blood, which he got when the call from the kidnappers came through. Finally they had something to go by.

Suddenly they had a person in custody that could be a mayor help with his Intel on the cartel, they knew what they were after and they could trace it backwards. He ran around like a mad man, when he and Danny got a name from their guy things were starting to clear up. They followed leads and even though they were dumbstruck when the cartel blew up their own drugs they still got somewhere and in the end they found the kids. The feeling that came when they later nailed the son a bitch who had lied to them and deceived them during the entire investigation was amazing. It was disgusting really what some people would do to protect their own arse, to harm innocent bystanders for their own gain and it was always satisfying to throw their arses into jail.

His phone buzzed in his pocket when he stood outside the palace and booked Hugo Castillo again, this time for a much more serious crime than before. Reading what was on the display he quickly rushed off to his car to meet Joe to find out what was so important. Arriving at disclosed location he was met by Joe and no other than Hiro Noshimori, the head of the Yakuza, in the trunk of Joe's car. To say that he was frustrated with Joe and could not believe what he had just done would be an understatement even though it turned out to be productive. To find out what Shelburne actually was, a person and not a classified mission or a thing, would help things immensely. If they could fins Shelburne they could exploit Wo Fat's weakness and finally catch the guy. Which was exactly Joe's parting words as he drove off with Hiro still trapped in the trunk. But as he did not have the energy to follow him or dig into it anymore today he picked up his phone and called Kono instead.

"Hey Boss!" Ignoring her greeting and nickname, Danny always said he had bad communicating skills, he jumped straight to the point instead. What was the point talking if nothing important was being said? It was just a waste of time.

"Where are you?"

"At the office doing paperwork, as should you!" He smiled at her teasing and could just picture her sitting behind her desk, feet on it and a stack of paperwork balanced on one of her knees. It was one of his favourite past times when they were having a quiet time in the office, usually after they closed a case and they were all in their separate offices. His was placed with the perfect view of Kono's, which had been intentional from the start, and when he was bored with his own work he would peak in to hers and watch her as she nibbled at the back of her pen. It was always just as fascinating and sometimes when he was in the mood it could lead to very interesting daydreams.

"How about you drop everything and make your way over to my place." He said in a soft voice that he only used with Kono. It was filled with emotion that he did not want to hide from her, with her he became an open book who wanted to be read. "I will fix dinner and we can have a quiet night out on the lanai."

"Are you asking me out Commander?" She teased and he was glad Danny was not around because he was pretty sure he had the goofiest grin about now.

"So what if I am?"

"Then it would be my honour! I'll see you soon than."

And with that she ended the call. Hopping back into his truck he drove over to their favourite take-out place before hurrying back home, hoping to beat Kono there so that he could prepare. It was after all a date and there hadn't been many during their time together. The few ones they had been on hadn't been too special but to them they had been perfect.

He was lucky and when he drove up the driveway her car was nowhere in sight. Rushing inside he dropped the food down on the kitchen counter and reached for some candles and an igniter. Opening up the glass doors to the lanai, he walked down to the hammock that was placed under some shadowing trees. There were lanterns hanging around the trees, curtesy of his sister, that he spend the next few minutes placing and lightning the candles in. After that he brought out the containers of food, a bottle of wine with glasses and put it all on the little table nearby. Satisfied with his work he went in and grabbed a blanket as a precaution since Kono easily got cold and he knew the both of them wouldn't want to leave the hammock when it occurred. Just as he reached for the blanket there was a familiar knock at the door, he frowned at the thought that she still felt the need to knock, even Danny didn't knock even if he wanted him to, but her he wouldn't mind.

Opening the door he smiled at her appearance, she was wearing the same white, loose shirt and jeans as this morning but had thrown her hair up in a ponytail that he knew better than to pull out. It was an obvious attempt from her to cover up her ruffled hair after a long day, but he wasn't complaining, it put her long slender neck at display and gave him easy access. Taking her hand he pulled her with him through the house and to the outside. His smile grew as he heard her gasp at his little do and he felt pretty proud of himself.

"Look at you being all romantic for a change!" She said as she planted a kiss to his cheek. He sat down and pulled her in between his legs so she could lean back against his chest and put her legs up on the settee.

"I'm always romantic!" He grumbled but never once lost his smile. Taking one of the glasses with wine from the table he gave it to her before reaching for one of the containers. Stirring around the food with his fork he pierced a piece of meat and brought it to her mouth and watch as her lips closed around the fork. She closed her eyes and moaned, a sound that went straight through his body.

"My favourite… What have you done now McGarrett?"

"Nothing just eat your food silly!"

He brought up another forkful for her that she ate with pleasure. He altered between putting the food into his own mouth and feeding it to her. As they ate, they talked and laughed about everything and nothing, mostly at Danny and all his funny quirks. When the food was done the snuggled up under the blanket he had brought earlier with each a glass of wine and watched as the sun slowly set over the water. Pulling her a little closer to his body he sighed with contentment as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. The notion he had earlier this morning about never wanting her to leave came back and hit him with full force. This was how things were supposed to be, lazy mornings in bed and cosy evenings just the two of them. His hand found its way under her shirt and the skin of her stomach as she pressed a delicate kiss below his jawline and nuzzled it with her nose. Yes, this was definitely how things were supposed to be.

"Move in with me." He mumbled into her ear. She went rigid against his chest and he worried he might have opened his mouth too soon, they had never really spoken about.

"What?"

"Come on, you're here half the time anyway and if not I'm at yours." She snorted and he could practically here what she was thinking. _Always the practical thinker_. "Plus, I kind of like having you here, even when you take forever in the bathroom." He pressed a kiss to her ear and waited patiently impatient for her answer.

"Okay." She said casually after a few seconds and he almost laughed at the way she said it, like she was agreeing to have pizza for dinner. "But you have no idea what you have given yourself into!"

Taking her glass and put it down along with his, he pulled her even closer and sunk further into the pillows and closed his eyes, a big smile on his face.

"I think I know perfectly well what I'm giving myself into." Another kiss to her forehead and the both of them was heading towards a well-earned sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

It was the hottest day of the year and she had chosen today of all days to start moving and pack up all of her things. The four of them he, Kono, Chin and Danny had been at her house bright and early, ready to dig and get to work. It had been alright the first couple of hours but as the temperature rose outside it also rose inside, they were four grown people breathing the same air in her tiny house while lifting and throwing. He was used to heat but this kind of heat was getting to him really bad, almost becoming unbearable. Sweat was running down his back and creating wet stains on his tee and he could see it doing the same at Chin and Danny. Kono on the other hand was wearing minimal clothes, the kind of clothes only he should be able to see her in, cut-off shorts that barely covered her arse and a tank top that ended just below her navel. Her hair was thrown into a messy bun on the top of her head, showing off her long slender neck that he loved to leave his mark on. If they had been alone he would not have hesitated to pounce, but unfortunately her protective cousin and his annoying partner was in the same room.

Trying to think of something else he picked up yet another box that said throw away and walked it out to his car so that they could get rid of it later. Since his house pretty much contained everything you need in a house she didn't have to take a lot of stuff with her except for clothes, personal items and what so ever. But they still had to clear her stuff out from furniture, cutlery, old savings she didn't want to keep and so on. Most of the things ended up in Danno's Camaro anyway, he saw his opportunity to upgrade his living situation a little and Kono the nice person she was didn't object to him taking her stuff. He almost had the urge to throw out that he should move in in her instead so that they didn't have to move everything and could head down to the beach. But he wisely kept his mouth shut, it had after all been his suggestion she should move in with him so he would have to bare it. It would be worth it in the end.

It took them almost the entire day to clear out her tiny house and it was a little past eight when they all left and drove to their different homes, Danny to his empty rental and Chin to Malia. They had only taken a longer break at lunchtime to head down to Kamakona's for some fresh air and grub. Never once had they been interrupted by their phones ringing, telling them they had a new case, something he knew they all secretly whished for, including Kono. They usually complained whenever they were interrupted doing something by work, but at this moment they wouldn't have minded. There this thrill in the case of a criminal, you get high on adrenaline and you want to get to the bottom of it all, it sure beat packing and carrying around boxes all day.

Walking through his, _their_, front door they both smelled and were dead tired, they had hardly said one word on the car ride over. All of her boxes and bags had been placed in the guest-bedroom in the meantime until they had the energy to unpack them, but knowing them and her it would back up itself after hand and move into a place in the house until there was nothing left in the box. Both of them trudged into the bathroom and discarded their clothes before stepping into the shower together, there was nothing to it but closeness and comfort. He held her in his arms as they stood under the water spray and she leaned her head against his chest, it felt nice and there was nothing more to say.

They took turns in lathering up and washing off before he turned off the water and left for the bedroom. She took out some underwear she had left after one of her stays and he found a clean pair of boxers and then they both crawled into bed on their official side. Finding her body under the sheets he embraced her from behind and curved his body around hers as he closed his eyes and let the darkness surround him. Tomorrow was the last day of their week off and he tried to come up with something fun they could do before they had to get back to work, but all he could think about was sleep and lying in bed so it looked like it would be a lazy Sunday in bed, he could deal with that.

He slept through the entire night without disturbance but he should have known better than to think they would actually get the weekend off, it turns out that the criminals never rests. He awoke by the vibrating sound coming from his phone on the nightstand and both he and Kono groaned as they reluctantly gave in to the day. Looking at the alarm clock he was surprised see it showing 9 in the morning, at least he got to sleep in for once. Reaching for the phone he brought it up to his ear and answered it in his usual manor.

"McGarrett… Yes sir, we'll be there in twenty!"

Hanging up he turned back around only to find that Kono had fallen back to sleep, her face buried deep into her pillow, completely dead to the world. Letting his hands come back under the covers he curled himself around Kono again and hugged her close.

"It's time to wake up Baby!" He whispered in her ear before he bit tenderly into her earlobe and buried his nose into her hair.

"I don't want to!" She murmured into the pillow before turning around in his arms and burrowing in his chest. He laughed out loud and just smiled tenderly at the mob of hair that was the only visible part of her. His girl surely loved her sleep and always had. The only time you could get her to wake up before dawn was when she was promised a ride down to the beach to surf.

"I don't want to either but we've caught a case."

"I ache all over." She whined and looked up at him with those puppy eyes that could make him succumb to absolutely everything and it pained to deny her.

"How about this, when we finish this case I'll give you a massage as consolation." A wicked smile spread across her face and her gaze turned heated.

"I do love your hands!" She purred and he swore that if he did not have the governor in his ear he would have taken her right there and then. It was amazing what she could do to him.

"Go get dressed!" He grumbled before smacking her bum and getting out of bed himself. Pulling on the closest pair of cargo-pants that Danny always teased him on and a shirt, he went into the bathroom to quickly brush his teeth with Kono trailing behind. When they were done they rushed downstairs and suddenly their quite moment had turned stressful. With a chaste kiss to the lips, something so utterly domestic that he had seen his parents do when he was a kid, they rushed to their separate cars and drove off.

When they arrived at the scene, a family house in a nice on the nicer part of the island, Kono went straight into the house while he met up with Danny outside who were talking to a guy from HPD.

"Good morning! How's the misses?"

"Shut up Danno!" He growled and stopped in front of him with his arms crossed.

"No but seriously! How's life one step closer to married life?"

"What have we got?" He said instead, ignoring his question.

"I don't know, I just got here myself!"

Walking into the house they followed the stream and up the stairs where they found Kono talking to the tech-guys as they walked around and took photos and dusting for prints among other things. On the bed lay a young girl with blonde hair and wide opened eyes. She was just seventeen years old and he had to agree with Danny that he could actually hate their job when things like this happened. The room was filled with colourful paintings, pillows and little things that gave the room a vibe of a perfect teenage girl.

Joining Lori downstairs with the father he asked the obvious question and he could see that it was hard on the father, he obviously couldn't come up with anyone who would want to hurt his little girl but when the boyfriend came up it was a different story. When that boyfriend later on popped up in their database he sure got curious and grabbed Kono to go with him. During the entire car ride over they held hands without saying a word, drawing comfort from each other. This case was going to take a lot of energy from the both of them, it was always harder to deal with when it was a kid involved. Her presence made him feel a lot better and the silence was a nice change from riding around with Danny all the time who could not keep his mouth shut.

When they were done at the hospital and returned to headquarters he went straight to his office and closed the door behind him. Kono went over to the smart table and started to some digging, there was no one better at that table and finding information as her except maybe Chin. He threw his keys onto the big wooden desk and sat down in his chair. The key to his house was shining bright, almost stinging in his eyes. Opening the top drawer of his desk he brought out a little jewellery box and placed it in front of him. Inside was an exact replica of the one sitting on his keychain and it was meant to be sitting on Kono's keychain, only he had yet to give it to her. He wanted to do something special, something meaningful because it was really something to him. Never had he let a girl in like this in his life, not even Cath when they had their romance back in the NAVY, and he wanted Kono to know how much it meant to him. But at the same time he didn't want to make a fool out of himself, become to mushy and vulnerable. It made him embarrassed and uncomfortable just thinking about it. How was he going to be sappy without appearing sappy?

But before he had time to dwell on it too much Chin came into his office and told him about his exciting morning. He had asked Chin to go and pick up Joe this morning at the airport in hope that he would pick up something he might have missed, a pair of fresh eyes if you'd like. But despite that he didn't really want to accept what he was hearing. Could it really be that Joe was hiding something from him and he really couldn't trust him after all? Though he knew Chin was right, things were not adding up and Joe was in the middle of everything. All the evidence pointed towards Joe and there was only so many lies a man could tell before they would start to catch up with you. There were too many questions and here it seemed that Joe held all the answers. And it didn't help things when he got a call in the middle of interrogating the principal about Joe being taken in for questioning and had to go down to the precinct to get him out.

sSsSsSsSsSs

She walked into her office with a bag of take out from the Italian restaurant down the road and she was looking forward for some peace and quiet, even if it was just twenty minutes. This morning had been pretty hectic with no time for breakfast and it was starting to show, her stomach was growling at just the thought of the pasta she had in the bag. Opening the container and grabbing a fork she leaned back in her chair, making herself comfortable before digging into the pasta. A loud moan escaped her lips and if she hadn't been alone in the privacy of her office she probably would have gotten embarrassed, but she was too hungry to care and it was so good.

Once she was done eating she cleared it off her desk and that's when she noticed the little box at the top of her desk. Reaching for it she saw the little white note on top. Gingerly she unfolded it and read what was written inside. _"I love you!"_ Three simple words that woke butterflies in her stomach and gave her a huge smile. Opening the box next she almost melted when she realised what was inside. Taking out the silver key she held it tenderly in her hand as took in every edge and tooth of it. He had given her key to his house, which was probably a good thing considering she was going to live there too, but it was so much more than a key to a house. It was a key to their future, a start to their new life together. Putting it on her keychain it suddenly became her most prised possession.

She was allowed five more minutes of silence for her day dreaming before Chin knocked on her door and waved for her to come outside. The pieces was starting to come together and the case was starting to close up. They knew who they were going after since they cleared out that the killer was not a teenage boy but a professional hitman. It looked like she was going to get her massage sooner than she thought.

When Danny got back with the construction man and told them what happened, her heart immediately went out to Steve who was nowhere in sight. Despite his tough guy act she knew that he took deaths hard and this one he would surely blame himself for, even though there wasn't much else he could have done. But before she could voice her concern Lori had already opened her mouth and asked for him. Lori's crush or affection for Steve had never really bothered her, she had more thought it was funny to see Steve either be oblivious to it or squirm at the knowledge, but right now it was starting to rub her the wrong way. Seriously, get over it already! She knew he was in a relationship and he had brushed her off several times already, it was time to turn her attention somewhere else.

She left the office alone and started to drive home. According to Danny, Steve had left straight after they had booked the other guy to go and see Joe. Apparently the commander wasn't answering his phone and it was starting to get Steve nervous. She knew the whole Shelburne thing and unanswered questions were getting to him more than he let on. But the thing that bugged him the most was probably that the man he had trusted his entire life, with his life was starting to let him down and keeping secrets from him. He didn't do well with secrets. Deciding to go home and wait for him, she grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down on the couch and turned on the television where she found an old series she used to follow.

An hour later the door opened and he walked in, his mind in a totally different world. He threw his keys and wallet on the closest table before walking into the study where she could hear him walking back and forth. Turning of the television and putting down her now empty beer bottle she followed him and found him leaning forward on his desk, head bent down. Something had went down with Joe and had not gone well. Walking up behind him she brought her arms around his waist and placed a kiss between his shoulder blades. One of his hands came up and covered hers and she could hear him sigh.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked quietly and he turned around and rested his hands on her lower back instead for on the desk.

"Not really." He said as he drew her nearer and she could feel his lips press against her forehead. She let her hands run up and down on his back, making what she thought was a soothing pattern. They stood like that for minutes before he pulled back and looked down at her with a huge grin.

"I believe I owe you a massage."

"Indeed you do Commander!"

He grabbed her hand and she let him lead her through the house and up the stairs to their bedroom where he made her lay face down on the bed in just her underwear. When she had made herself comfortable with her head on a pillow she felt the bed dip next to her and then his strong hands came in contact with her back. He started lightly with a feather light touch, barley gracing her skin before he moved in deeper. His hands were pure bliss working its magic. Her whole body turned to jelly and she felt so relaxed she almost fell asleep but she didn't want to miss out on the sensation. He worked out every kink and loosened up every sore muscle in her body and she couldn't stop moaning. Since the first time they met his hands where the first thing she noticed. They were strong, protective and yet at the same time soft and gentle, and the things they could do to her… She loved his hands.

When she was five seconds away from sleep her pressed a kiss at the top of her spine before he lay down next to her on the bed, nuzzling his head into the crook of her neck.

"Did you like your gift?" He whispered and she could only smile at the nervousness she could hear hidden in it. How that man could doubt himself, she had no idea. He was giving her backrubs and keys to his place, making her the happiest girl alive. There was no reason for him doubt himself.

"I loved it, thank you!"

"I'm really glad you're here Kono." He said after a few minutes of silence and hugged her just a little bit closer. This was another side of Steve she loved. The open and gentle man that was hidden behind the big man, the soldier. She loved these little moments in bed when they would open up to each other and wasn't afraid to say what they really felt.

"Me too." She closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep to his hand's soothing motion on her stomach. This was how life was supposed to be. Home. Ohana. Love. She had never been happier.


	4. Chapter 4

An invitation to a fundraiser from the governor was not something you got to even consider to turn down and no matter how boring it might be, there was one upside. He was going to get to see Kono in a dress, a real formal gown, something he had only seen on Chin and Malia's wedding. They were not exactly formal people so the few dates they had had was more of a casual affair, but it sure wasn't a sight he was soon going to forget. He was home alone getting ready in their bedroom since Lori had insisted that the girls should get ready together, he had practically been able to see Kono begging him to save her from across the room. Smirking at the thought of Kono being tortured by girly stuff also made the evening a whole lot better.

Kono was not someone you would staple as a girly girl, she was anything but. Instead of waking up half an hour earlier in the morning to get dressed and dolled up she rather went to the beach for a surf before throwing on the nearest item, barely remembering to run a brush through her hair. While other girls spent hours at the shopping mall she spent five minutes in the shop, long enough to gather up some elegant shirts and a pair of jeans that fit. She rather went to the shooting range with him then down to the gym for yoga. Sure she still liked to do the other stuff and she liked to dress nice, but it wasn't in her nature to do so and that was what he liked about her. She didn't feel that it was necessary to make a fuss about everything and draw it out. Simple. Pretty much like him.

Straightening up his tie he took one last look in the mirror and doomed himself ready. He had found his one and only black suit in the closet that he had worn when Chin got married, normally when he when he was forced to go to a formal event Blues were expected or mandatory, so it was pure luck that he actually had something to wear. Picking up his keys and wallet, he couldn't go to a fundraiser and "forget" his wallet like he did every time he went out for a beer with Danny, and took off for the hotel. When he arrived the place was swarming with women in long gowns in every colour and men in suits and ties, he was going to fit right in. Walking through the mass of people he finally spotted Danny by one of the tables and it looked like he was signing up for something, much to his surprise. When he reached Danny and he told him what he was bidding for he couldn't help but laugh and do the same, if only to spur on Danny. Which he regretted the moment he opened his mouth and began of his famous rants. And that was when Kono decided to make her entrance for the night along with Lori, striking him speechless. She was wearing a long white dress that was covered from top to bottom with sparkling gemstones, held up by two thin straps that was resting on her delicate shoulders. He had to remind himself to keep his mouth closed so the he wouldn't make a fool out of himself in public. But before he could say anything Chin walked up to them and told them about his upcoming lesson with a famous ukulele player.

"Do you know what would be even cooler though? If you bid on that romantic weekend in Kauai." Kono hinted, not so discreetly to her cousin and Danny immediately took the bait.

"Why would he do that?"

"Because he's newly married and its Valentine's Day this week…" She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and quickly casted a glance at him before turning back to her cousin and he had to fight the urge to slap himself. He could not believe that he had forgotten about it again. Their second year together he had totally blanked that it was Valentine's Day and he had yet to hear to end of it. When Chin then explained how Malia liked it simple he thought he could just copy his example until Kono voiced her displeased opinion on the matter. Drugstore candy was not what a girls wanted as a token for their love.

"-but of course it's better than someone not remembering at all…" And once again her gaze turned to him and he could see the smug smirks on both Danny and Chin's faces. Of course he would be the one that forgot about the day of love.

"So, what I hear is that you would actually be okay with chocolates?"

He grinned and made everyone laugh, including Kono. Breaking out of the circle they had unconsciously formed he went to stand next to Kono instead. Putting one of his hands on her almost bare back his smirk grew even bigger. She truly was utterly beautiful. Up close like this he could see just the smallest amount of make-up on her face and her soft alluring perfume reached him.

"You look absolutely amazing!" He whispered in her ear to prevent Danny or Lori from hearing their conversation.

"You don't look so bad yourself Koa!" But as soon as we get home the heels are coming off."

"I was hoping you would say that!"

Leaning in he stole a kiss and then another before pulling her slightly closer until she was resting against his chest. But the peace didn't last long as the governor approached them and called out for him and Lori. He didn't know if he should be glad or sad that they all of the sudden got dragged into work. On hand it meant that they could skip out on the boring event, on the other hand it meant the end of their night off and probably the next coming once as well. But he would have to say it was slightly angering since all of the sudden he was stopped from doing his work properly for reputations sake. He sure hated these fundraiser parties.

To say that it was both difficult and ridicules to investigate a crime scene in black-tie attire was an understatement, but it did give him something good to look at every time Kono moved. Looking through the surveillance tapes they got a lead and it ended up with him throwing himself of the roof after a suspect. Something he knew Kono would give him hell for. Ever since the affair with Wo Fat she had been a little more apprehensive of him doing something stupid that could get him hurt, she wouldn't really say it or show it but he could definitely tell. Maybe it was best not to say something about it, hopefully Danny could shut up as well.

It was something about this whole case that irritated him. First they had a person at upscale event who did not belong at an upscale event. Then they had a diplomat who was untouchable as a suspect and who most likely did it, the trick was just to prove it when you couldn't even speak to him. And that's why they, or mostly him, had planned their most insane raid ever. Which unfortunately did not end so well. Chin got stuck inside, having to take all the heat from the Russian consulate while the rest of them where on the outside. They managed to smoke their suspect out but as usually he ran and he of course ran after. He almost had him within his grasp when out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of something black and then came the pain. They flew straight into the windshield and then things went black. From somewhere far off he thought himself hear Kono's desperate cries but he could not will his eyes to open. He hated hearing Kono in any kind of distress, he just wanted to take her into his arms and reassure her that everything was fine, but no matter how hard he tried he could not move his body.

When he saw her next she was approaching him in the cutes pair of scrubs and it sort of bothered him that it could arouse him even in a situation like this. She wore the most tender look on her face as she stepped between his legs and placed her hand carefully on his less damaged cheek. Letting himself go for a second, he leaned into her touch and sighed in contentment. Lori had been the one to go with him in the ambulance and he had not seen Kono since he woke up at the sight, just as they were rolling him into the ambo.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly and he couldn't do anything but smile at her, she was truly one of a kind.

"I'm fine! Did you get it?" Holding up the piece of plastic in her other hand, she waved it in front of his face and smiled smugly. Grinning proudly at his girl he enjoyed her presence for a few more seconds before they heard approaching voices, one of them belonging to the governor. Kono quickly slipped on her mask again and gracefully slipped out through the door on the opposite side of the room before the entourage came in to the room.

He had to try and explain himself to the governor and defend their actions but it did not go down too well. The governor was beyond furious and he knew that they would definitely have to pay for it when all of this was over. But they only needed a few more hours so that Fong could match the blood and prove that the suspect was their killer. When the results came back and he could take the sister to see the man who had once destroyed her life, it was the greatest feeling. They had managed to get justice for the girl, but it came at a big price. Lori had to leave them. It was a little sad because despite their start she had begun to grow on them, but on the other hand it was also a relief, things would go back to how it used to be, just the four of them. As a parting gift she had given him the season tickets he and Danny had been bidding on, apparently she had outbid them both when their backs had been turned. In the end though he ended up giving them to Danny anyway, not really wanting him and having something else to look forward to.

Walking out of the office with Kono like any other day they jumped into the car and drove off. Only this time he wasn't taking her home. When the others had been busy with paperwork he had snuck out for half an hour and rushed back home and backed them both an overnight bag. He had taken her advice after all and not gone for the chocolates in the end. He could see the confusion clearly on her face as she realised they were not on the way home, but she still didn't say anything and it warmed his heart. It just showed how much she trusted him, so much that she never even questioned him when he was abducting her. When they arrived at the airport her curiosity got the best of her and her resolve broke, but the only answer she got was a broad smile. It was a good thing when it got to surprises that he never broke under pressure.

When they got their boarding passes however he could not hide it anymore and the look on her face when all the pieces came together was priceless. She smiled that adorable smile that was completely filled with love and warmth, reserved for times when she found no words, and he felt pride to the fact that he could make her that happy since she made him so happy. Before he met her, family was something he kind of resented and didn't have much experience off. He practically lived for his job, going on mission after mission and almost always longing back to the action when he was on leave. It was what kept him going, knowing that what he did helped people live their lives in bliss. But then he met Kono and everything change. Work ended up far down to the bottom of the list and suddenly he had other priorities. He found himself wanting to settle down with another person, create a life together. For the first time he lived for someone else's happiness and felt like he belonged somewhere. Content.

They arrived in Kauai a while later and a car was waiting outside to take them to their hotel. The sun was setting and their hotel-room was facing the ocean, tempting them for a surf in the morning but if he had his way they would not leave their room this weekend. Champagne and flowers were waiting for them and ironically enough, chocolate. They both burst out laughing but quietened when they got other things to occupy themselves with.


	5. Chapter 5

She was sitting on a couch in a hotel-room and listing to the shower running that contained a man who was not her boyfriend, if she even had a boyfriend anymore. The only reason she was here was work and maybe out of spite and to get a reaction, just to prove a point. Three weeks and counting and they still hadn't heard a word from Steve since he took off for who knows where and left an "I'm sorry"-note at Danny's desk. He hadn't even told her in person. They had gone to bed one evening just like every other evening, he had pulled her close and they had fallen asleep soon after that. But when she woke up the next morning she was alone and his part of the bed was cold. She had searched around the house, unable to find him, and when she got to work Danny had showed her the note, she spent most of that day held up in her office alone.

She didn't quite know how to feel. Angry, sad or be a big girl and understand why he was doing it? That was probably the problem. She knew why he was doing this. Wo-Fat had been haunting him for years and he would not rest until he caught his parents' killer. But besides that there was still the part of taking off without a word. They had been together for over three years, they lived together and he couldn't even tell her he was leaving, he had to sneak off in the middle of the night. She wouldn't have tried to stop him, she would have never done that to him, but it would have been nice with a kiss goodbye if he wasn't going to make it back.

The shower stopped running and she mental shook herself to get rid of her thoughts and get a clear head. She was here for work although she knew it was not her companion's only thought. Adam had approached her a while back, after his father left and said that he wanted to take their business straight and that he could help her in return as making it easier for him. He had flirted a bit and openly showed his adoration but at the time she had been happy with Steve and hadn't given it much thought. Although now she wasn't above to use that affection to her advantage, plus it made for good distractions. A hotel-room might have been a little extreme but who was she to argue. She let him buy her breakfast as they talked, or more like he talked and she listened, before they both had to leave.

Arriving at the office though she got the shock of a lifetime when Steve called and the guilt slowly started to creep up on her. She had never done anything with Adam, they were just friends at most and he knew she was with someone, but she still felt a little guilty for hanging out with a man who liked her just to spite Steve.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" The guilt disappeared and was replaced by anger at his short answer until he added after a few seconds. "I'll be home soon." His tone much softer and for a moment she forgot about all the pain and just relished at the sound of his voice.

Giving him what he wanted they got straight to work and traced the number he found to a warehouse in the docks. Leaving immediately they were there in fifteen minutes only to find their dead body that but them straight in line of the Yakuza. Anna Douglas was shot by a yakuza weapon, now they only had to prove it and find out who did it. She and Chin went to see Adam and he seemed oblivious, she liked to think she had come to know him over the last few months and could tell if he was lying. He had sounded so genuine about coming clean and from what she could tell his many different business was slowly getting on board. He might be a good actor but you can't that. Chin on the other hand thought differently and was sure he was involved somehow and she knew he started to suspect something when started defending him.

They worked on leads all day and when Adam later on called, wanting to talk she said yes without hesitation, hoping he would be able to shed some light on everything. Because as the case had moved along, she herself couldn't help but doubt her original feelings about Adam's involvement. This was all coming back to Wo-Fat and Adam was eager to get his father back home, what if this was a favour to him to get on his good side. Arriving at the location he had set up she found herself at an uninhibited house that looked like it was undergoing construction. Walking inside the floors were covered with plastic and in the room she found him in was a lone chair. Something was not right and by the distressed look on his face she was right. When he showed her the box and she looked inside everything started to fall in o place. Adam didn't want to help Wo-Fat, he wanted to kill him instead and that's why the house was covered in plastic and there was a chair with duct tape on the ready. He was going to bring Wo-Fat here when Steve brought him in and he was going to make him pay for what he did to his father.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Three weeks. That's how long this trip had taken and that's how long he had been away from home, away from Kono. It ate him up every day that he had left, he knew she must be pissed or at the very least hurt that he just took off like that. He feared that when he got back home there was nothing to come back to. Because even though he didn't know much about relationships he was pretty sure that leaving the country to hunt down a criminal without a word was not a good thing to do. Every night, at whatever place he slept in that night he thought of her, whishing he was home instead of where he was and holding her in his arms. His dreams were filled of her smiling and laughing if they weren't of Wo-Fat. Sometimes it was memories and sometimes it was wishful thinking of when he got home. How she would run into his arms or how she would first yell at him before they got home and made up. But in either version they ended up in their bed together, falling asleep in each other's arms.

It pained him to think that that might not happen, but at least he was on his way home. He was sitting on the plane in the seat on the opposite side from Wo-Fat, his senses on full alert. He was still a bit weary of the situation, it just seemed too easy after everything they had seen Wo-Fat do over the years for him to just surrender himself. And besides, he seemed way too smug for someone who just got caught and didn't have an ulterior motive. So when everything went south and the plane-crew turned against him he wasn't too surprised. The Yakuza turning up to kill Wo-Fat instead of helping him on the other hand surprised him and suddenly he was in the middle of a gunfight. Dragging Wo-Fat with him into the now abandoned helicopter with handcuffs they took off and they were finally going home.

Landing the halo at the back of an old building he quickly got out, ready to get out of there as quickly as possible and make a call for back-up. But before the routers had even stopped spinning the metal fence was run down by three black SUVs that came to a screeching halt and before he knew it they were surrounded by the Yakuza pointing guns at them. And in the front was Adam Noshimuri asking him to give over Wo-Fat. How on earth was he going to make it out of here?

But he should have known that his team would have his back and not be too far away. Within a minute they were by his side, geared up and guns drawn. Kono was approaching Noshimuri, pleading with him to put the gun down like she knew him, like he mattered and it twisted something inside of him. Surely she couldn't have moved on already and with Noshimuri of all people. But Noshimuri actually listened to her and put his gun down. The guy in the suit next to him on the other hand had different ideas. He drew out his gun, ready to pull the trigger but Kono was faster and put him down clean. HPD took over and she turned towards him for the first time with a slight smile. He could tell that she was relieved and when she approached him he opened up his arms and hugged her tight, burring his face in her neck.

"You don't write, you don't call!" She said lightly with a teasing tone but he could hear the underlying message loud and clear.

"It's good to be home!" He chuckled quietly, relieved that everything was over. He squeezed her tighter for a second before letting go and moving on to Chin and Danny.

Deciding that they had had enough excitement for one day they decided to call it a day and deal with all the paperwork in the morning. He should be relieved but he was nervous as hell. He and Kono had not spoken a word since they had left the scene and now they were going to ride home together and he had no idea what to say or how to act. The ride over was awkwardly silent as he tried to rack his brain for something to say while Kono was stubbornly silent, not even looking his way or attempting to help him out. She was truly mad alright.

Arriving at the familiar house he followed Kono in as she unlocked the door and turned on the lights. Putting down his bag he watched her move around the house before going upstairs and he followed her once more and watched her get ready for bed. She was pulling off her clothes with a little more force than necessary and shut the drawers closed a little harder than normal and the noise made him wince.

"Kono, we have to talk!"

"Now you want to talk? Because you're so good at communicating!" She snorted as she still faced away from him, pulling on a worn out shirt of his and he sighed. This was not going to be easy.

"I'm sorry-"

"You're sorry?!" She exclaimed and turned around to face him. Her eyes were slightly damp and he could see every single emotion that flashed over her face as her walls were down. Angry, sad, hurt, relieved, scared. It all flashed before his eyes so fast his head almost spun of his shoulders. "You left without saying goodbye, not even a note and without knowing when or even if you were coming back. Do you know how it felt like to wake up to an empty bed and not finding you anywhere? I understand why you left, I never would have stopped you. I know you can handle yourself and I'm used to you being away longer periods of time, doing dangerous things god knows where. But at least you said goodbye!"

"I didn't know how to okay?!" He couldn't take it anymore and let his frustration out. The guilt was eating at him inside and it was the reason he had done what he had. "We promised when I got back home that that was it and I didn't know how to tell you I was letting you down. How do you tell the only girl who made you want to give everything up and come home that you were going to leave them again?"

"Steve…"

He sunk back onto the bed with a sigh and put his head in his hands. It felt good to get it all out but it did not make it all go away. He was a man who prided himself to be a man of his word and for him to break his word he gave to someone he loved was practically worse than suicide in his book. That was partly why he was so driven to finish a case, he was a patriot who fought for his country and valued truth and honour. So him going against his code that identified him was a bad as it was going to get. Seeing Kono, happy free-spirited Kono, looking so down and disappointed did more damage than any bullet could. It kept on reminding him of his missteps and making him feel even worse.

Kono sat down next to him on the bed and her tiny, soft hand found his and pulled it away from his face and lay it on her lap. Croaking his head to the side he watched her cautiously as she watched their entwined hands. The look on her face was tender so he took a chance and stroked his thumb over her knuckles. It felt amazing to be able to touch her again, to feel her soft skin that she spent every night moisturising, driving him crazy when he wanted her next to him in the bed right away. Just that small contact calmed him down and made him believe that everything was going to be alright. When she didn't pull away from him, he pulled her closer and pressed his lips against her temple.

"I'm tried." She said quietly but did not pull away from his arms. "Let's go to bed and talk more tomorrow. But don't think you're off the hook yet sailor!"

With a sigh of relief he scotched back on the bed and pulled her along with him under the covers, not bothering to get undressed before closing his eyes. Kono's light frame snuggled up to his side and one of her legs were thrown over his. He was finally home and felt at ease. Danny would do nothing but mock him if he saw him know, all soft and pathetic, Chin would just shake his head with a small, knowing smile. Hugging Kono just a little bit closer to bury his face in her neck he closed off his mind and let the familiar sound of Kono's light breathing lull him to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Okay, I know it's been like forever since I last updated, over a month and that this chapter isn't the longest and perhaps not the greatest so I apologize, but it's an update! It's as simple as life getting in the way. The last month has been crazy with finishing up all the schoolwork, birthdays and graduation that I have barely had any time for myself. **So I threw this together real quick in hope to get something out there, but hit a bit of a dry-spell and I didn't have a lot to work on in this episode, everything happens in the next one so I'm getting started on that right away and hopefully it will make up for this chapter! **

Things were still a little bit tense between her and Steve and she couldn't stand the awkwardness anymore and fled the house before he woke up. The first night he had been back she had been so exhausted, both physically and mostly mentally, that she had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow but last night it had almost been impossible to fall asleep. She had not succumbed to sleep until late, several hours after Steve had fallen asleep, only to wake up a few hours later at the butt crack of dawn. When she woke up she lay in the bed trying to fall back asleep or at least lay in and relax, but she had to get out of the house to get some fresh air and escape the stuffy environment of their four walls. All day yesterday she and Steve had been prancing around each other, trying to act as if everything was fine because neither of them had the energy to deal with heavy conversation, but things were not fine. So things had gone beyond awkward.

Pulling into the parking lot of her favourite parking lot she jumped out of the car and grabbed her board. The beach was practically empty apart from one or two regulars since it was too early for people to even start waking up. It was now it was the best, free from tourists who doesn't really know what they're doing and a clear ocean. Running into the water she paddled out and waited for her wave. She took a deep breath and let the smell of salt water cleanse her mind, erasing any troubles even for just a little while. When she was in the water nothing else mattered, it was just her and the water moving as one. People used to say that she lived in the ocean, as a little girl her parents had a really hard time getting her out of it, every single chance she got she took. It was where she had always been most comfortable, it was her safe haven where she came out to think or to just forget it was where she could be herself without any interference and leave everything behind.

When she got out of the water after several hours the beach were slowly starting to fill up with a few more early risers, the main rush not quite there yet. Finding her stuff she barely had time to put down her board and dry off with her towel before her phone went off. Sighing at the interruption of her calm and relaxing morning she picked up her phone and put it to her ear.

"Hello."

"Kono!" Steve's voice rang out and she immediately tensed up, was that really how it was going to be from now? Feeling tense and uncomfortable around the man that she loves and used to felt safe around. Was she going to walk around afraid of being around him in case of a confrontation and having to face everything? This could not go on, she knew that. Something had to give eventually. "We've got a case. Fryer's been killed, I need you to meet up at the crime scene."

"Okay. On my way."

Hitting end she effectively cut off the call, he didn't take time for necessary phrases anyway. Packing up her stuff and putting on her clothes she made her way through the sunbathers up to her car and drove off. Fortunately for her the address was across town and she had a little time to get her thoughts under control before she got there. When she pulled up at the scene the place was already swarming with officers and white and blue police cars but Steve's blue pick-up were nowhere in sight, but her cousin was standing with two officers talking while looking further down the alley. Walking up to them she stood beside Chin until the two officers left and his attention turned towards her.

"Hi Kono!"

"Hi cus!"

Looking around the area she tried to suss out the scene and make herself a version of what had happened. Max was already there, kneeling beside the body and further down the alley was another body with some sort of note taped to the chest, a body she later found out was a dummy placed there to trick Fryer. It wasn't long after that that Steve and Danny arrived with Joe in tail and she decided to scope around and leave the briefing to Chin. It was first as she heard gunshots that she turned around and ran back. Max was currently on the ground with Joe by his side as the boys ran through the alley and out the back door. Everything happened so fast and next thing she knew she was sitting in her car chasing after the suspect towards the police department. Then the chase turned to foot.

She thanked the gods every day that she hadn't given up her training after she busted her knee, it was astonishing how much she had to run and jump and roll on this job, some days every muscle in her body was sore. Of course Steve, the Super SEAL, just thought she was whining, to him this was absolutely nothing so she would go to Danny and complain because he was always on her side, jumping at any opportunity to complain about Steve. It was nice to have someone to turn to since Chin was peace himself, he only laughed at her and ruffled her hair before he went home to Malia were a back-massage was waiting for him. She had tried that one on Steve on several occasions but it always ended with the two of them in a passionate embrace between the sheets after five seconds. Apparently he couldn't touch her bare skin without it turning into something more.

When the smell reaches their noses the four of them look at each other before quickly running upstairs, screaming for everyone to evacuate. They barely make it out of the building before the whole thing blows up in the air. She manages to take cover behind one of the cars, just getting the wind knocked out of her but out of the corner of her eye she watches as her cousin flies through the air before hitting the ground with force. After that everything turns to chaos. Car alarms going off, people screaming and moaning in pain and people running left and right trying to help with the little knowledge they have. It's a sea of people and she can't spot Steve anywhere no matter how hard she tries and she can feel the panic start to rise within her. The thought of losing him when he was in Japan had been hard enough but the actual possibility was unthinkable. It would be stupid to break up with him for a silly reason like being afraid of losing him instead of making good of the time she did have him. The feeling would never go away, but at least if something would happen, which was very likely in their line of work, she would have something to hold onto. By no means was he out of the doghouse for not telling her he was leaving, but there were so many much more pleasurable ways he could make it up to her.

She wanted to keep looking for him but she had to go in the ambulance to the hospital with Chin to make sure _he _was okay. He regained consciousness in the ambulance and as they arrived at the hospital he was talking and responsive. They had wheeled him off right away to get checked out and she was now roaming down the hallways trying to find the room he was in. Just as she thought she was in the right place her phone rang and when she saw Steve's name on the display she could finally breathe a little easier. Stopping for a second in a calm corner she pressed answer and brought the phone up to her ear.

"Hi!"

"Kono! Are you okay?" He sounded slightly breathless and she could only imagine the stress he was going through right now, there was no way he would rest until they had captured this guy.

"I'm fine, I'm at the hospital looking for Chin. What about you?"

"I'm okay, I just- I couldn't find you after the blast, I thought something had happened to you."

"Yeah, me too." Further down the hall she spotted Malia rushing through some drapes with a terrified expression on her face and that could only mean one thing. Chin. "Hey, I just found Chin, I'll see you in a little bit okay?"

"Yeah!"

Sick-sacking through the mass of people she reached the drapes she had seen Malia disappear through and walked inside as well, where Malia and Chin was in the middle of a heated discussion if Chin should be allowed to leave or not. Malia was worried and being overprotective, while Chin was his normal calm self and reassuring her that he was fine. They finally got some room to talk freely after Malia had to run off and help someone else.

"What's the latest?"

"Well, I just spoke to a desk-sergeant who said that Fryer was responding to a DOA-call when he was shot. The thing is there's no record of any such call going through dispatch." Not being able to stand her cousin's pathetic attempt of putting his shirt back on she took it upon herself to do it for him.

"Okay. Well that means reached out to him directly. Did you check his phone logs?"

"Yeah, the call came from a burner phone, so no luck there."

"Who the hell is this person?"

And she couldn't do anything but agree with her cousin. On the way back to headquarters with Chin she relayed the information to Steve and Danny to see if they had anything else they could go on that might shed some light on things or connect some dots. But they were just as clueless as them, so when they also arrived they started to go through the surveillance tapes to match a name to the face. When the connections had been mad and Frank Delano's ugly mug came up on the screen she couldn't stop the chill that crept up her body and she was more than happy to leave his interrogation to Steve and Danny. She could still have nightmares about the time she spent with his crew.

But no matter how creepy that man was, he was also resourceful and sat on a lot of information that was crucial to their investigation and it actually led them somewhere. They found her at the Vet's place near the station and shots were fired, she was not going down without a fight that one. It ended up with the woman getting shot and them out of breath with a lot of paperwork to do.

Paperwork was her least favourite thing to do, but at this moment she actually appreciated it and enjoyed the quiet moment. Through the glass-walls of their offices she could see straight in to Steve's and she could see him sitting on his sofa through the blinds, glaring at the papers in his hands. They hadn't really talked since their phone call when she was at the hospital so to him their relationship was still on thin ice, but she missed him. The last two days might have been necessary but it didn't make them any less awkward or weird. Taking the matters into her own hands she gathered up her unfinished papers from her desk and made sure the coast was clear for her to make her way to Steve's office. Danny's was empty and Chin was sitting with his back towards her. Opening Steve's door quietly she snuck in unnoticed to the Navy SEAL and approached him. She lowered herself on the couch and curled up at his side, her head resting on his shoulder and her arms wrapped around his much bigger one. This was how they usually did their paperwork when they brought it home with them instead of staying late at the office. They would curl up on the couch and take turns to work, it might not be appropriate to do it here and they normally didn't, but today she couldn't help herself, she needed to be close to him.

He looked down at her, looking quite surprised but with a big smile on his face. Without saying a word he removed his arm from her grip and wrapped it around her shoulders instead, bringing her even closer, and pressed a kiss to her temple. Her paperwork was long since forgotten and she let herself really relax into his embrace, burying her nose in his shirt and breathing in that familiar scent of his that had been absent from her life for weeks. They stayed like that until he had finished his papers and decided to go home and it was with reluctance she removed herself from his chest and stood up. Just as she was about to walk out the door Joe walked in and with a look from Steve she got the okay to leave, obviously he wanted to talk to Joe alone, which was fine by her. She was going to go home, have something quick to eat and then catch up on her sleep from the night before. But her peaceful state of mind didn't last for long, just as she jumped out of her car her phone went.

"Steve?"

"Kono, listen. I am going to have to leave again and as much as I don't want to, I need to do this. Joe's promised to take me to Shelburne. This is it Kono! I promise to make it up to you when I get home, dinner and candles included!"

"Flowers and massage too, Steve!" She could hear his sigh of relief on the other end at her statement. As much as she didn't want him to go, he had just gotten back from the same trip and things had just turned good for them, but she knew how important this was for him, to get one step ahead of Wo-Fat. Both his parents had been murdered over this person, he almost went to jail, Chin was almost blown in the air and it kept haunting him and coming back no matter what he did. He needed this closure and it was not something she would ever deny him. Hopefully after this it would all be over once and for all. Ending their phone-call with promises of a return soon she moved over towards their front door and just as she was putting her key in the lock everything went dark.


	7. Chapter 7

**So this is where my story breaks away from the plot line, from here on out it will be very much my own twist, I will probably use some of the episodes as a guideline but everything else will be all mine. Hope you enjoy it!**

As she started to come to it and regain consciousness everything around her was dark and she was not in her bed, she was lying on a hard, cold surface and her head was pounding slightly. There was something binding her feet and her hands behind her back, and there was something covering her mouth, making her unable to either speak or move. A low slightly clucking noise made her realise she was out on the water, most likely on a boat. The sky above her was dark but clear and she could see the twinkling stars, it would be quiet the sight if she didn't find herself in such a predicament. She didn't know where or why she was here or who had brought her here in the first place. What could they possibly want with her? It couldn't be Wo-Fat since he was currently behind lock and key, rutting away for life and there was no one else she could think of that would gain of taking her. Just her luck too that Steve had left the country, if she was lucky Danny and Chin would notice her absence tomorrow morning when she didn't turn up for work. So yeah, she was pretty much screwed.

There was a low rumble of a man's voice coming from the other end of the boat but she was unable to see who it belonged to. According to the little she could make out over the sound of the ocean was that they were waiting for someone to give the go ahead for something. What, she didn't know, but she had fairly good idea that it wouldn't be in her favour. She had no idea of how long she really lay there on the deck in the cold night air, her entire body was covered in Goosebumps and she could swear she would catch a cold if she got out of here alive.

The bump to her head must have been harder than she thought because it was slowly making her head feel heavier and she was having a hard time staying awake. She knew it was very dangerous to fall asleep, not just because of the situation she was in but also of her injuries, it could be worse than she thought and she might never wake up. She was just about to nod off when heavy footsteps made their way towards her and stopped just a few, short inches from her face. Twisting on to her back she tried to get a glimpse of the man holding her captive, but it was proving almost impossible in the dark, he was wearing some sort of cap that was sheltering his face even more from any light that might reach them. The man leaned over her and roughly grabbed her upper arms to pull her into a sitting position on the railing. In front of her on a box stood a laptop that showed her an image of herself, hair blowing in every direction, duct tape over her mouth and an angry red bump on her left temple. She didn't know what, but something was about to happen and a minute later the man got his orders over his phone and hung up. He walked closer to her with a big grin and before she knew it he had grabbed one of her hips and one of her shoulders and pushed her backwards, overboard.

She broke the black surface with a splash and then she was quickly sinking into the depth of the ocean. It didn't matter how much she tried to trash against her restrains, they wouldn't let up and make it easier for her to get back up the surface. She tried to kick as hard as she could with her legs put it was pointless when she just pulled herself down the distance she just kicked up. Her air supply was running low and her already drowsy head became even drowsier. All of her energy was slowly running out of her, there was no real point for fighting anymore. No one knew she was there and there was no way she could get up to the surface on her own, she might as well give in and let the ocean take her. She always said that her final resting place should be the ocean. In her last seconds of consciousness Steve's face appeared in front of her and she couldn't help but smile slightly to herself. At least he didn't have to be here to see it, it would haunt him for the rest of his life.

oOoOoOoOoOo

When Joe said that he would take him to see Wo-Fat he didn't know if he could believe it or not, come on had that man not spent his entire life lying to him and his father, spent a month moving Shelburne from safe house to safe house every time he got close? Why should he all of the sudden just bring him to the man who had made his life a living hell? But here he was, back in Japan, knocking on the door of a small hut and waiting for Shelburne to open the door and when he did he could not believe his eyes. In front of him was the one person he never thought he would see, not alive at least. But there she was, in the flesh, the very own Doris McGarrett, his mom who had died in a car-bomb twenty years ago.

"Mom?!" He breathed out. There was no way, he had to be hallucinating.

They just stood there for what felt like forever and starred at each other before he took a tiny step forward, not really knowing why or what he was going to do but before he had to quell on it for too long Doris had already moved into action. She wrapped him up in her arms real tight and held onto him, not giving him a way out. He was too stunned to react so he just let her hold him while he was trying to make some sense out of all of this in his head. Once she did let go she led him over to the couch inside the room had him sit down as she startled to bustle around with the kettle, mumbling something about a cup of tea.

"Are you sure you don't want a cup?" He just kept watching her, not really believing she was really there. He didn't know how many nights he had sat up late with Kono out in the backyard and just talked about everything after his father's death. How his mother's death had affected their entire family and to later on find out that it had also killed his father, because it wasn't an accident and he had dedicated everything to find the one who killed her. His mother's death had been the one thing that had defined his entire life, it's what made him who he was today, everything changed the day his father told him that she was dead. "Stephen?"

"No, no thank you." He was actually nervous. He didn't know this woman anymore, but yet she was one of the few people he actually loved.

"I know you have a lot of questions Steve." She said as she sat down on the couch opposite him.

"Yeah, why don't we start with Shelburne?"

"Shelburne was the codename the agency gave me." Whoa, agency? What flipping agency? His mother had been a schoolteacher. "Before I met your father I worked for an intelligence program that reported directly to the Pentagon."

"You were a spy?" He clarified. It all sounded so unbelievable with the image he had of her from his youth.

"Yes."

"So all those years I thought you were a schoolteacher… that was…"

"Was a cover." She said nodding with tears in her eyes.

"Were me and Mary just a cover too?" This was all just getting all too much, everything he had ever believed in was a lie.

"Shelburne was way before you and Mary." She clearly didn't like what he was insinuating, she didn't want to look like the bad guy in this but there really was no other way in his head. Because of her Wo-Fat had gotten into their lives, he had killed his father, he had killed the governor and he continued to make his life a living hell.

"How did you meet Wo-Fat's father?"

"He was an assignment."

"So you were ordered to kill him?"

"It was a little more complicated than that."

"But we've got some time so why don't you uncomplicated it!" He was getting tired of all the secrecy, he came here for answers and he sure was going to get them. She gave him some honorary story about serving her country and why she got out in the first place, how family meant everything to her. So if they meant so much to them how could she just leave them like that?

"So why did you do it, Doris? If that's even your real name."

"It was the name I was born with and it was the name I went back to the day I met your father. And since when does a son call his mother by her first name?"

"Since she failed to be one twenty years ago!" He could see that that hurt her, but that was kind of his intention. He wanted her to know just how much it hurt to lose her and that for her to just show up in their lives again wasn't okay. She skipped out on them, left them on their own when she was supposed to be there. Nothing could make that alright, not even her being alive.

"I didn't see any other option Steve. Wo-Fat was looking for the man who murdered his father and he was willing to kill anyone who stood in his way."

"So you faked your own death?!" She said it like it justified everything, like she was some self-sung hero. But not to him, he only saw the woman who had let him and his sister down.

"Yeah! I did what I had to do to protect my family."

He couldn't take it anymore, he couldn't just sit there and listen to it all. He got up from his seat and started to pace around the room. This was all just too much, he needed Kono or Danny to vent on and preferably Kono since he could also let out his weak side that wanted to cry over the mother he had once lost. Danny would take his side and understand his anger, betrayal and crazy lies were one of the many things Danny couldn't stand and for once they would whole heartedly agree. But Kono, not only would she understand and comfort him, she would also come with some words of wisdom and give him some perspective and the bigger picture, something he was in desperate need of right now.

"You know, dad sent us away thinking he had to protect us." He said and turned back around to face the woman that called herself his mother. "And he spent the next twenty years looking for your killer. All that was for nothing!"

"If I would have told him the truth Wo-Fat would have executed him-"

"Wo-Fat executed him anyway!" He exclaimed. He had been forced to listen to him executing him and listen to his father's brave words, he was willing to give up his life for victory and justice and here she was sitting, telling him that what she did was to prevent it but only prolonged it and gave his father a miserable life.

She wanted him to understand from where she was coming from, but he just couldn't. There was no way he could do that at the moment, he couldn't think clearly, he needed to be at home where he could breath and get out of her territory and get some space. He could tell she was shocked when he told her to pack a bag, but he couldn't stay another minute in the cabin. Once he convinced her that it was safe she went to back a bag while he waited outside with Joe that later on drove them to the airport.

The plane ride back was awkward but Doris seemed to have collected herself a little. When they arrived back in Honolulu he was shocked to see all of the patrol-cars that were waiting for them on the airstrip. Danny was there of course, he wouldn't expect anything else. After the greetings and explanation who Doris really was and some snide remarks from Danny, he was ready to get back to business.

"I appreciate the homecoming Danno, but what's with all the police present? You didn't have to go to all this trouble." He looked around, it wasn't just regular patrol-officers there were swat teams and leaders, it felt a little too much.

"This is not for you, it's for Shelburne." He said and pointed towards Doris as if he had forgotten she was there.

"Why me?" Doris asked.

"Wo-Fat escaped."

"What, when?!"

"Two hours ago.

"Steve, if he finds out I'm on this island…"

"That is not going to happen, we are going to put you somewhere safe!" Turning towards Danny he went into SEAL mood immediately. "Call Chin and Kono and have them meet us at the Palace. What? What is it?"

"There's something else you need to know."

Just by the tone of his voice he could tell that it was something bad but as soon as Danny started talking again he wanted to sink through a black hole. Panic gripped around his heart and he felt like punching someone and crying at the same time. Kono. He didn't let Danny finish his story before grabbed Doris and let her over to Danny's car so that they could drive over to Kono and Chin. As soon as they arrived at the hospital and the car stood still he took off in high speed towards the entrance and he could feel Danny and Doris on his tail. Nothing else mattered, he needed to see Kono! Sprinting down corridors they finally made it to the one Kono and Chin was in, he spotted them further down the hall as Kono stumbled forwards to embrace her cousin that had a tortured look on his face. Poor Chin! Asking his mother to stay behind for a bit, there was no need to overwhelm them all at once when they had so much else to think about, he and Danny walked over to them.

As soon as Kono and Chin broke apart he had Kono gathered in his arms, hugging her so tight to his chest that you couldn't tell where one of them ended and the other one began. He buried his face in her neck and breathed in her familiar scent, trying desperately to calm his raising heart. He could hear Chin and Danny embrace and start to talk quietly among themselves but he was too wrapped up in his own little world, Kono, to notice, nor did he notice his mother's astonished look as she watched him interact with Kono. Picking up Kono he sat down in the nearest chair and placed her into his lap in a more comfortable position. He could feel her small body shaking slightly and he knew she was letting it all out, knowing her she hadn't dared to do it before, trying to be the strong one all the time. He ran his hand up and down her back while whispering soothing words in her ear and once she had calmed down they both turned to look at Danny and Chin.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Delano said he bugged all of your phones and if I called you he would kill Kono and Malia immediately."

Chin must have gone through hell, having to do all of it on his own with no support. Kono had nearly drowned if it hadn't been for Chin's quick thinking and calling Adam to rescue Kono, somehow they had developed some sort of friendship while he was away and while he might not approve he was immensely grateful, and Malia might still die if she didn't make it out of this surgery. Now there was nothing more for them to do then to wait.

"We, should have been there with you!" Said Danny but Chin only shook his head.

"There was nothing you could have done!" He turned to look at the door which Malia was behind before turning back with determination on his face. "I want Delano." No arguments there.

He and Danny left the hospital first with Doris, Kono stayed behind with Chin until they got some news about Malia. His main-priority now was to deal with the governor and get his mother to safety, after all Wo-Fat was now out there and there was a big chance he knew Doris was on the island. The governor was not happy, not happy at all, but of course he didn't know the whole story behind it but that also meant that he himself would have to give it to him, wasting precious time doing something unimportant. When he hung up the phone he couldn't help but bang it against the steering wheel. Why was it that every time he talked to the governor he ended up in an even worse mood than he was before? It didn't matter what he did, the governor was always undermining him and it was really starting to piss him off.

"Son of a bitch! He wants a full inquiry about the Delano release."

"Stephen!" He reprimanded him and without thinking he became a little boy who would mind his manners around elders.

"I'm sorry!" Something Danny found very amusing.

"Yeah, watch your mouth _Stephen!" _

"That goes for you too, smartass!" Now it was getting good, his mother reprimanding Danny, actually anyone reprimanding Danny rose in his good books.

Luckily he had gotten a hold of Catherine that was for once on the island on leave and she was just the person to guard his mother. He had half a mind of putting Kono with them in the safe-house but she had downright refused, claiming that she had just been bait in the bigger scheme but he wasn't so sure. After all, Kono had been one of the main-players in taking Delano down in the first place and he was definitely looking for revenge. When they arrived at the safe-house and he introduced his mother to Catherine and she slightly raised her eyebrow at him before shaking Catherine's hand. She was obviously questioning his friends when she had seen him with Kono earlier, something he was pretty sure she wanted to know more about, so he was surprised she hadn't asked. Maybe he should thank Danny for once for being in the car with them, he did come to good use some times.

When he left the safe-house he got a call from Chin and the others saying that Delano had been the one to help Wo-Fat escape, but the question was why? He set them on trying to find out more about what Delano and Wo-Fat were up to and where they were hiding, while he himself stepped a little harder on the gas pedal to get there faster. Arriving at the palace he quickly took the stairs up the second floor and burst through the glass door only to be met by a very quiet office. Danny was in his office talking on the phone and Kono and Chin looked like they were having a very heavy conversation, they both had tears in their eyes and looked utterly exhausted. Normally he would probably tell them to go home but he knew that neither of them would agree to it, and he kind of liked having Kono in his sight so that he knew she was okay, as she refused to stay at the safe-house.

He waited outside until they were done and waved Kono outside. She quickly excused herself and came out of Chin's office and walked straight into his arms. Letting out a sigh he pressed a kiss to her forehead, he really appreciated the contact and he needed some private time with her, blame it on the Neanderthal within him.

"Are you okay?" Came her muffled voice against his chest.

"My mother, whom I thought had been dead for twenty years is alive." He said like it explained everything, and it probably did too. It was a really messed up situation. He could feel her nod against his chest, letting him know she understood that his head was one big mess at the moment.

"Have you told Mary yet?"

"No, and frankly I don't think this is a conversation I can have over the phone."

"Yeah." He felt his lips press against his chest, just above his heart and he couldn't help but smile. She always did that when she thought he had done something good or sweet, since he didn't really appreciate being called cute or sweet, it was a crime towards his masculinity. But he still appreciated the gesture, it felt good to know he had made her proud of him or that she was touched by him, he welcomed it with open arms.

Their sweet moment was interrupted by Chin bursting out of his office saying he had found a match on Delano and Wo-Fat's getaway car. It led them back to a known criminal and when they arrived at the suspect's house they were met by a dead construction crew. When that same crew later on turned up for work at their site, Honolulu police department, things started to fall into place, especially after their talk to Duke. They had needed an entrance point into the department without being discovered, hence why Fryer's murderer had blown up the place. Unfortunately they just missed them at the station and they had managed to get away but didn't get too far thanks to other peoples recklessness. It turned ugly, shots were fired and civilians got involved, it became chaotic and they ended up running all in different directions to catch their men. It ended with two of them badly hurt by gunshot and was bussed over to the hospital and two died, Delano was one of them. It had been at Chin's hand but not by the good man's intention, he had had no other chose. Delano had him at gunpoint and if he hadn't taken the shot, he would have been the one lying in the morgue instead. They were still waiting for Kono to come back with her guy when she called out for them with urgency. Hurrying over there to where she stood next to a car that one of the men had tried to drive off in. When they arrived the man looked close to death but was still trying to say something.

"Sh-sh-shel, sh-shelb-"

Further he didn't get to say before he went but he didn't need too, Steve knew exactly what he was trying to say. He quickly fished out his phone and called Catherine, this was exactly what he had been afraid off, that Wo-Fat would find out that Doris was on the island. He threw himself in the car, the others were not too far behind, and drew in mad speed over to the safe-house. Outside on the front-porch lay a dead body and his blood immediately turned into ice. Drawing his gun he burst in through the front door and started shouting, if nothing else it might startle Wo-Fat a little.

"Mom?! Mom!"

Taking the stairs two steps at the time he was upstairs in no time at all. He found his mom and Catherine in the bedroom looking at each other quiet solemnly, his mother slightly shaking, he was too busy thinking she was okay that he didn't take notice of the body laying between them on the floor. Rushing over to his mother he embraced her, like really embraced her, for the first time since he found out she was alive. It was first when he let her go that he noticed the gun in her hand and the freaked out expression on her face. He looked around the room and saw the body, the body of no other than Wo-Fat. Turning back towards his mom he looked at her wondering and she nodded. His mother had taken down Wo-Fat. What he felt was immediate relief, perhaps a little bit of disappointment that he wasn't the one to do it and avenge his father's death, but overall relief. It was finally over, the chase that had consume his life for the last four years, he could finally relax and breathe a little easier.

Running up the stairs came the rest of his team looking just as alert and scared as he had just a couple of minutes ago, when they noticed Wo-Fat's body their expressions turned to ones of shock. They stood like that for a few minutes, not saying a word, until Doris strapped on her gun and went over to Kono, holding out her hand. As he watched this another wave of panic came over him. Never had he had to worry about bringing girls home an d be embarrassed by parents interrogating her, but now his mother was back and she was a freaking spy! He would never be able to have a secret ever again.

"Hi I'm Doris McGarrett, we haven't been formally introduced."

"I'm Kono, it's nice to meet you ma'am!" Kono answered with a slightly nervous smile.

Doris turned around walked back to him and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"She's a keeper that one. Don't screw it up, Stephen!"

Malia had made it out of surgery and was right now in recovery and Chin had rushed over there as soon as he had gotten the news, a huge stone lifted from his chest. Danny went to pick up Grace and spend some well needed time with her, which only left them behind. When they finally arrived home after their long and exciting day neither of them had any energy to cook, or more like Steve since Kono could barely cook, so they ended up getting Chinese food on the way back to the house. He led his mother first into the house and let her wonder around the familiar halls that really hadn't changed that much over the years, he wasn't the decorating type and Kono hadn't been there long enough to start changing things according to her. He could see her eyes tearing up a bit, there were probably more memories here for her than there were for him. Kono came in after them and went immediately to the kitchen to serve up the food and get some drinks. They all sat down at the table and had barley taken the first bite of food when his mother dug into her interrogation of their relationship. The how, when and where were just the start, she had a bunch of follow up questions but Kono took them all in a stride, better than he did anyway. But after all it still felt great, it felt normal and it was nice. They teased and bickered and laughed, it was something this house hadn't seen in a really long time. A family, a family who laughed and enjoyed each other's company. A really, weird and shitty day turned out pretty great after all.


	8. Chapter 8

Groaning he stretched out every single limb in his body, cracked his back and stretched his legs as far as he could. The satisfying cracks and popping sounds here and there was the most pleasurable thing in the world. Laying back down on the bed he slowly opened his eyes and let them adjust to the bright light that streamed through the window above the bed, he had once again forgot to draw the blinds before he went to bed. He smiled at the warmth next to him on the bed and moved closer towards it. It was the first morning in a really long time that he felt perfectly content and woke up with no major worries dragging him down. Wo-Fat was no longer a threat, the mystery around his mother's death was solved and he was lying next to the woman he loved.

After they had eaten last night he had showed his mother to his old room that was now the guestroom and left her to settle in on her own. He had then proceeded to lead Kono up the stairs to their bedroom, after making sure that all the doors were locked and windows were closed, an old habit of his. They went into the bathroom and got ready for the night together by the sink. Afterwards they went back out and stripped off their clothes before climbing into the bed. Kono had wiggled up close to him, her back pressed up against his chest. She had always loved to sleep like that, with him holding her. When he had asked her about it, her response had simply been that it made her feel safe, him shielding her with his body. That had gone straight to his head, it was in his nature to be protective of the persons in his life, a very personal trait. But last night it had led somewhere else. He had not touched her properly in a month and he had come so close to losing her for good it wasn't even funny, he was desperate for her, he needed to know she was alright and to really feel her to reassure himself that she was really there with him. His hands had started moving by their own accord, tracing up and down her body, taking in her every curve and re-memorising it. Kono had squirmed in his arms and arched into his body, her body's silent way of asking for more. She had tried to resist at first but the need had been too big for both of them. She had missed his touch as much as he had missed hers. Though he did his very best to distract her, she was fully aware that his mother was in the room below them and she was biting her lip and doing everything she could to stay quiet. But he was determined to have her moaning his name and he had a blast doing it, there was a primal instinct in him that needed to stake its claim and her glare did nothing to diminish it. In the end he was the victor with her moaning his name over and over again, so maybe they both won.

Tracing her sleeping form the same way he had done last night, he smiled softly to himself. She looked absolutely beautiful where she lay tangled in their white sheets with the early morning sun gracing her face. Her face looked so peaceful and she truly looked her age, many times he forgot how young she actually was when he was around her, she was always so responsible and held them all to the ground, it was easy to mistake her for the older one. It was something he had always admired about her, she always stepped up to the task no matter how hard or scary it was and took it in a stride, tougher chick was hard to come by. But at the same time she had the biggest heart he had ever seen, it had to run in the family since both Chin and her mother was the most kind-hearted and open-minded persons he had ever met. It amazed him sometimes how people that saw so much tragedy and crime could still be so gentle, even he found it hard sometimes not to just shut down and run on autopilot so that he wouldn't have to feel after everything he has ever seen.

Placing kisses up her shoulder to the crock of her neck, he slowly started to wake her up. He could feel her stir slightly but she didn't move nor open her eyes, it was quiet the task to wake Kono up, it could take several minutes before he even got a slight reaction out of her, she really did love her sleep. Sometimes he envied her, from his time in the NAVY he woke up at the slightest sound, it was his training after all, but she could sleep through anything, heck someone could drop a bomb and she wouldn't notice. That had him concerned as well, if someone were to break in she wouldn't stand a chance. He let his hands travel to what he knew was her weak spot, gently trying to pry her to a lighter sleep but it was no use. It was in times like these he wish he could be cruel towards her and wake her up like he would wake up Danny, but she was his weak spot and he was way too soft when it came to her to do something like that. So instead he continued his ministrations and lay himself slightly on top of her to add some pressure, he would take to drastic measures if this didn't work. His kisses went down her neck and over her clavicle down to the valley between her breasts that wasn't covered by the sheet. Pulling down the cover he continued his travels down her chest and finally he got a reaction, a very sweet, soft moan that sent tingles through his body. Knowing he had her now he continued his mission until he felt her join in and then he went full gear on her. He was just about to spread her legs and rest himself between them when the most embarrassing thing in the world happened, something he had been fortuned to miss out on, one of the good things of his family history. His mother called them out from downstairs.

"Come on lovebirds, get out of bed! Didn't you get enough last night?" He could hear the teasing tone in her voice and knew she was enjoying this a little too much. She knew exactly what she was doing. While Kono laughed out loud he was mortified and tried to hide himself in the crock of her neck, hoping it would all go away and become a horrible nightmare. He got one minute in his made up heaven before he was pushed off from his comfortable positon and a laughing Kono made her way to the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

Groaning he got up from the bed as well with a scowl on his face. Was this how it was going to be from now on? His mother cock-blocking him from his morning sex every day? That would not do. There was nothing so embarrassing as having your mother call you out just as you were about to get down to business and your girlfriend walking away from you laughing. Getting dressed he grumbled the entire time and waited for Kono to come out from the bathroom so they could go down and face the music together, something he was not looking forwards to.

oOoOoOoOoOo

After breakfast that was one hell of affair with all sorts of fruit plus pancakes and eggs, she would be lucky if she could ever walk again with the amount of food she had put in her stomach. One thing was sure though, her mother in law could cock even better than her son. The conversation had been light chit-chat about ordinary things but you could sense that there was a lot of unspoken questions in the room that had yet to been approached by either of them. But despite all that it was actually quite nice, she never thought she would ever get to know Steve's family so it was a nice change of events. Steve on the other hand she could tell was very uncomfortable on edge the entire time, he obviously knew his mother better than she and was just waiting for her to pounce on them, it was actually quite funny to watch. But he was saved by the ringing of his phone as usual. Just when they had finished eating his phone went off and Grace had practically begged him to join her and Danny at waterpark today, and the softy that her uncle Steve was there was no way he was going to say no. He had turned towards her like he was silently asking for permission and she couldn't do anything but smile, she had other plans anyways, she was planning on going to see Malia at the hospital before inviting him over to their place for a bbq. The three of them, she, Steve and Doris, had come up with the idea of having a barbeque at their place like they used to and have a family night after everything that has happened over the last few weeks. So she would spend the morning at the hospital and then the afternoon getting ready for tonight.

After Steve left the house, in quite the rush as he was eager to get away from his mother's inquiring eye, she was left alone in the kitchen with Doris and the dishes. This could become interesting. At first neither of them said anything, both of them just moving the dirty dishes to the sink, minding their own business. It was first when she had her arms elbow deep in dishwater that Doris opened her mouth, giving her no way to escape.

"You love my son." It didn't come out like a question, more like a statement than anything else.

"Yes." She didn't hesitate but she was a little worried of where the conversations was going. She and Steve had told her everything about their crazy love story last night, how after just meeting that one time in Australia they were flying to different continents to see each other. Many people would think that they were mad and didn't know what they were doing, there was no way you would wrap your life around one man you have met once and spoken to one the phone a few times. But to them nothing had felt more right. When they first told Chin and Danny their story, Chin had just shook his head with a look that clearly said "kids" and Danny had gone off on a rant about how he really shouldn't be surprised over their reckless behaviour. So really there wasn't much more to tell.

"How come?"

"Excuse me?"

"You said you loved my son, why?"

"Ehm…" How on earth was she supposed to answer that one? How was she going to simplify and break down everything she was feeling into words, it was outmost impossible to make her understand what about her son that made her tick. "Because… No matter how crazy things are around us, one touch from him makes everything else disappear and has me at ease immediately, he feels like home. And because he is the most beautiful man I have ever come across, how he opens up just to me and let me see the soft side of him while other's is met by this cool front. There's no other person in this world who knows me as good as he does, who knows exactly what I need and is willing to give me it. So that's why I love your son."

She could tell that Doris was stunned by her answer, probably expecting a much shorter one and she couldn't help but blush a little at her love declaration, but once she started thinking about all the feelings and emotions that Steve stirred in her there was no stopping it. There was a few minutes of awkward silence before Doris came out of her stupor and turned back towards the dishes with a mysterious smile, now she knew why it bothered Steve so much, it was freaking terrifying.

"I might be a grandmother sooner than I thought!" Shit, now that was a scary thought.

Hurrying up with the dishes, putting extra effort in keeping the conversation casual from that point, she made her excuses and ran upstairs and in to the bathroom where she locked the door carefully. Stripping down in rapid pace she turned on the water in the shower and climbed in without letting the water heat up. It was cold, but it was exactly what she needed. After her cold but relaxing shower she got dressed before saying goodbye to go to the hospital.

oOoOoOo

Malia was awake and talking when she arrived, even sitting up a little with the help of the bed. The look of happiness on both hers and Chin's faces was priceless, after everything they had been through they somehow ended up right where they were supposed to, next to each other. It was astonishing and she could only hope that that would also be what people saw when they looked at her and Steve. She sat on a chair next to Malia's bed for over an hour and having necessary girl talk, that she could tell bored Chin out of his mind but he couldn't stop smiling and looking adoringly at Malia the whole time. It was first than she realised just how lost Chin would have been if they had lost Malia yesterday if she hadn't made it out of the surgery.

It was a nice time but Malia soon got tired and she made her excuses after telling her cousin when to show up at their house and left to go to the supermarket. There was of course a lot of people as always whenever she went grocery shopping, just her luck, she hated crowds and people moving around without a care for anyone else. It was annoying. But sucking it up, she got through the gruesome hour before she made it out of there with her arms full of bags. Her boys sure could eat you out of the house, she wasn't any better really, but with their jobs and activities what could you expect?

oOoOoOoOoOo

To get out of the house when he did was a godsend, never had he been so happy to see Danny's face on his phone before, even though it turned out to be Grace that he gladly talked to at any time. He felt a little guilty for leaving Kono alone to deal with his mother, but she was though and could probably handle her interrogation a whole lot better than he would, he would most definitely storm out of the room after five minutes. His mother could be really infuriating when she wanted to. Instead he got a day out in the sun with his favourite little girl and her annoying father that had somehow become family to him.

As soon as he jumped into the car Grace started to talk his ears off about this and that, her school and friends among other things, while Danny just smiled in the driver's seat, clearly happy about spending time with his daughter. It was a nice thing to see at times how much he changed when he was around his daughter. He could really come off as an over-grown child at times that neither him nor the team could stop making fun of, but as soon as Grace came around he really grew up, it was a nice change. When they arrived at the waterpark Grace was off like a cannonball before Danny had even payed for the entre tickets, she was elated by the sight and Steve could understand why, this was a kid's paradise. There were slides in every shape and form, all in different colours that went in all kinds of directions, toys, bubble baths and streams. He might even enjoy himself, if not he could just watch Danny going done all of the slides with Grace and make a fool out of himself. It turned out that he didn't have that much of choice but join in on the fun, apparently Grace thought it was funnier to goof around with her uncle Steve than with her boring old dad like she always did, so the three of them dragged themselves up the steps before sliding down into the cool water below. They went at it for hours in a row until the little girl was exhausted and their stomachs were rumbling with hunger, indicating it was time for a break. After they had eaten at one of the many restaurants around the area, they retired to the lounge-chairs that were lined up around the pool and Grace quickly fell asleep, using her towel as a blanket. It gave Steve and Danny some time alone to talk, which they really hadn't had the chance to do since everything went down.

"So how is everything? How's Kono doing?"

"Oh you know, she's though." He chuckled dryly. "I think it's me that has a problem. I've barley let her out of my sight since we got home, never more than a few feet between us. I don't think I have ever been more scared when you told me what happened to be honest."

Running a hand down his face he tried to get the horrifying pictures out of his head. They had already plagued him during the night so many times that they were etched into his brain. Danny looked at him sympathetically, knowing exactly how it felt to have one of your loved ones in danger. Just a few months ago his old partner went after his daughter, making Danny run around the island doing all sorts of crazy stuff. It had made him lose his mind and Danny was often a very rational person when it came to dry situations, wanting to take everything in and think things through, but back than all of that went out of the window. It was a situation he himself knew all too well, he might not take his time but thinks up a crazy plan instead, but it often works just as it should. But he knew that if it had been him in Danny's shoes there would be nothing left of this island once he was done.

"Kono is her usual bubbling self, having already demanded the massage I owed her for leaving the country so soon after I got back. Mom is not any better, she's in spy/mom-mode and interrogating us about our relationship every chance she gets."

"And you left Kono alone with her?!" Danny asked incredulously, shaking his head at his Neanderthal ways most likely. But then his frown turned into a smirk instead. "They are probably talking about babies and weddings by now, she will most likely have you married by next Saturday."

A horrified expression took over his face at that scary thought. He knew how pushy his mother could be and they were not ready yet, or they hadn't talked about it yet. There really hadn't been any time for that with their crazy schedules and lives. Ignoring the smug look on Danny's face he pushed any thoughts of wedding out of his mind and quickly changed the subject, luckily Danny was easy to distract. When Grace woke up again they played in the water until it was time to leave and go home, much to Grace's disappointment, she could have properly played for hours more. It really amazed him how much energy was held up in that tiny body of hers.

Arriving back home the driveway was already filled with cars, letting him know that everyone was already here and that there might be a pissed off Kono inside because he was really late. He had promised he would be home before everyone started to arrive so that he could help her finish up, looks like he will be sleeping on the couch tonight. He, Danny and Grace walked in through the front door and was met by the smell of food. Walking out through the backdoors out to the patio he was met by his entire "family. There was Chin talking to Kamekona over by the grill, Joe and his mother was sitting by the table chatting amongst themselves. Everyone was there except for the most important one. Looking around the backyard he tried to find her smiling or scowling face but could not find it anywhere. Grace skipped immediately over to Chin and Kamekona while Danny took a seat with his mother and Joe, he slunk quietly back into the house to try and find Kono. After checking the living room and the downstairs bathroom he checked the kitchen where he find her humming on some silent tune while finishing up a salad. She looked adorable. He had never actually heard her sing for real but it was often that he found her humming on some tune or another whenever she thought no one was around, like when he surprised her in the shower or now, as he walked in on her in the kitchen cooking. Walking up behind her he put his arms around her waist and pushed up against her back.

"Hi." He whispered in her ear before pressing a kiss to the back of her exposed neck. She leaned in slightly to his touch but never once stopped doing the task at hand.

"You're late!" She said, half amused since it wasn't really unusual for him to be late for trivial things like a barbeque. A workout session on the other hand or a work related meeting he would be there faster than lightning.

"I know, I'm sorry!"

"Yeah, yeah. The dishes is yours."

"Aren't they always?" He laughed. It was common knowledge that Kono wasn't that into house holding, never had been since the few times she's been out of home she's lived in a surf house with a housekeeper and the other time she has barley been inside the door of her own home unless she was dropping something off. So she often started on things like cooking dinner or baking, but she quickly lost interest and left it to Steve to finish or clean up. At first it had annoyed the hell out of him, just like he annoyed the hell out of her every time he walked in after a swim or surf without rinsing off first outside, bringing in all the sand into the house and shower. But after a while he had gotten used to it and it slowly grew on him, it actually amazed him that the house wasn't an ever bigger mess than it was when he got home after going to Japan, it was amazingly clean.

"The food's nearly done, Chin started on the steaks and I only have to finish this before we can eat."

"It looks delicious!"

"I actually helped this time!" She said with mocking astonishment and he couldn't help but laugh along with her.

"Well, you did good baby!" He said and pressed kiss to her check.

"Thank you!"

He held her in his arms as she finished up the salad before walking out the house with her and sat down at the table, everyone ready to dig in. He just managed to squeeze himself in between Kono and his mother, trying to make up for leaving her alone with her this morning, and Grace had jumped to her other side, eager to talk to the only adult she hadn't seen today. The conversation flowed easily through the night, they ate and talked before eating some more and before they knew it, it was dark outside. But that didn't stop them, Kono lit the candles and he went inside to grab the blankets, giving the fluffiest one to Grace and smiled as she curled up in her chair with the blanket pulled up to her chin.

Kamekona was in the middle of telling them one of his many stories as an islander, with Danny giving commentary now and then about how ridicules something was, when he looked over at Kono and found Grace half asleep in her lap as she stroked her hair. Watching her closely he realised that she wasn't even aware of what she was doing, she was fully focused on Kamekona and Danny talking, it came naturally. He didn't know how long he stared at her for, but by the look in his mother's eyes when he met them across the table, it must have been a while. The sight just consumed him, sucked him in. It stirred so many emotions and tugged on a lot of heartstrings, never had a sight touched him more. It made him think about what it would be like if that was their own daughter, his and Kono's. His little girl that he took to the waterpark with Grace and Danny before they came home and she fell asleep, exhausted in her mother's lap after a long and exciting day. A girl with sun-kissed skin and brown hair, Kono's face but with his smile. It was a beautiful yet scary thought, How come he was so sentimental all of the sudden? He decided that it was Danny's fault, putting grills in his head when he mentioned weddings and his mother for being interfering. But when Kono turned towards and smiled at him with that big smile of hers, he wondered if it wasn't him after all.


	9. Chapter 9

"Did you see the tear Chin shed?" Steve asked amazed and she could do nothing but agree. She could probably count all the times she had seen her cousin on one hand, but the news that Malia was still able to get pregnant was one of the best news he could have gotten.

"He's always wanted children and a big family. It was his and Malia's dream."

"I didn't even know it was a possibility that she couldn't…"

"They didn't tell anyone, I accidently overheard them talking when I went to visit Malia at the hospital."

They were on their way home after being at Chin's place and welcoming Malia home this morning. When they arrived at the hospital and hour earlier they had just walked into Malia's room as the doctor told the happy couple they could still be parents after her gunshot wound in the abdomen. It certainly had been a sight to see how their faces to lit up and how they looked at each other, surveying a message that they were going to start right away and not waste any time.

"Do you want kids?" Reeling around in her seat she turned towards Steve in the driver's seat, her mouth slightly agape.

"I'm sorry. What?!"

"Do you want kids?" He asked again, this time a lot less secure.

"I- I haven't really thought about it…" She said warily, not wanting to say the wrong thing. "You?" She wasn't really sure she wanted to know the answer to that. Were they really ready for a family with another person to think about every time they went head first into a situation?

Steve was just about to answer when his phone went off and she couldn't help but to think _'Saved by the bell'_. That phone of his was really starting to become her new best friend, always helping her out of sticky situation and avoiding awkward questions that she did not want to answer. They had caught another case and the quick thinker her man was he made a sharp U-turn right there in the middle of the street and drove in a rabid speed in the opposite direction. They were going to get there in no time.

"I think we would make very cute babies." So maybe she didn't get away from it this time.

"I know, just look at me!" She joked, trying to make fun of the situation instead.

"My point exactly." He said and when she turned to look at him, he was already looking at her with a heated stare.

Where had all of this come from? Never in the years they had been together had kids ever been an issue. She had her big family that was split in two because of the corruption scam around Chin and he had some serious family troubles of his own, with both parents getting killed and a psychopath on the loose who wanted him dead. Kids had never really been an option, both because of their scaring and traumas but also because of their lifestyles. There was a big chance both of them would drop dead any minute.

Sure, she had thought of having kids from time to time whenever she saw an emotional scene that tugged on her heartstrings. Like the time when the little girl and her father reunited after he had held an entire tour-group hostage inside a battleship. Or when Steve carried the kid out on one arm after armed men had broken into the house and killed the mother, holding him so the kid wouldn't have to see the body. It was moments like that she could see herself having children of her own. But it had never been more than that, moments of weakness. She had grew up in a big family with plenty of kids and adults running around her house 24/7, it was nice but she kind of enjoyed just being the two of them, her and Steve. She had never had that kind of privacy or intimacy, just two people who shared a life together. It was nice.

"What brought on all this Steve?" He sighed and ran his hand over his face like he always did when he was frustrated or flustered and didn't know how to express himself.

"It was just something Danny said the other day, it got me thinking. And then seeing Chin and Malia earlier. But it's cool, it's nothing. Let's just forget about it." He had clearly picked up on her hesitant and reluctant answers.

"It's not that I don't want to have kids with _you_¸ Steve!" She quickly explained and lay a hand on his arm that was resting between their seats. "I just can't help but wonder if we're ready. We have never really spoken about it, it just took me of guard that's all."

They arrived at the scene where Danny was already waiting for them, talking to a man from the HPD. Steve turned off the engine and jumped out of the car without a word, making her feel bad for hurting him, that was the last thing she wanted to do. So she was slightly surprised when he walked around the car and waited on her side for her to jump out as well. When both her feet hit the ground he embraced her tightly, burrowing her into his chest, just how she liked to be hold and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

"We'll talk more about this when we get home."

"Talk about what?" Walking up behind Steve was Danny and he had clearly snapped up that they were talking about something that didn't concern him, which automatically spiked his interest.

"Nothing Danno!"

"Have you finally come to your senses Kono? Realising that you're done with that waste of space and came for the real deal?" He said, motioning to himself in all his glory. Which earned him a slap over the head from Steve.

"No! If you must know we were talking about kids."

"What?!" He exclaimed and she almost felt the urge to smack her forehead. Of course her impulsive man had to just blur it out. "You two having kids? Are you guys insane?! Kono, come on! Do you really want to have grenade throwing kids? That's just madness!"

"Oi, that's my kids you're talking about!" She said indignantly and she could feel Steve squeeze her a little tighter at her words. Thinking about it she was practically saying yes to his earlier question. Well, shit. Turning to Danny she quickly changed the subject.

"So what do we have?"

"Hostage situation." And they were back at work. How lovely.

A group of masked men had robbed an art gallery in the middle of Honolulu, two of them had gotten away in the getaway car while one of them was shot by HPD. He then preceded to taking the people in the closest shop hostage. Barley five minutes in and she was already in costume on her way in to meet their perp for the day, and it was a mess. People lay terrified on the floor with their hands over their heads as a man paced around them with a gun in his hand. He was in bad shape though and just as the rest of the team ran in he dropped dead to the floor, officially killing any lead they had.

That was until Max called and said they found the getaway car with the driver in it, burned to a crisp. Steve and Danny got the honours to go and check it out while she returned to the office to see if she could find something from the dead robber. But when she arrived Chin was already there moping by the smart table. Which she found odd since he was supposed to be at home with his wife that had just gotten out of hospital.

"Shouldn't be home, massaging Malia's feet or something?" She teased, knowing her cousin would do absolutely anything for his woman at the moment, actually at any time really.

"Very funny Cus. No, she kicked me when her sister came over, they were having a girl's day or something that included a very expensive home spa. So I bailed."

"Nice!" She laughed and patted her cousin on the shoulder before walking over to the smart table and looking over the suspects file.

There were things about this case that just didn't add up or make sense. First it was the low price score, they had gone to an awful lot of trouble for a mere 30 000. They kidnapped the daughter of a famous racing driver to get him to drive the getaway car. When they later on found the robbers, with the help from their favourite old man August March, they were shot to death but the paintings from the gallery was still there.

The entire day they ran back and forth across the island, all because of August March and his greedy way, it was apparently not beneath him to use an innocent girl to get some money and excitement. But in the end they got their bad guys and they found the girl in the trunk of a car.

After such a long and frustrating day they all decided to go to their regular place for some beers to rewind. Danny drew some incredibly horrible jokes that they had all heard several times before and later on Kamekona turned up in a leather pilot jacket and aviators. Apparently the next big thing in his franchise was helicopter tours around the island, something Danny immediately was against. He was not joining them on the first flight. And when he had had enough of being called a coward, he decided to drop them in it with Chin.

"Kono and Steve are going to reproduce." Did he have to be so crude and clinical about it?

"What?" Chin exclaimed, looking from him to Kono than back to him again.

"No… We were just talking about kids and Danny misinterpreted as always." Steve said slightly panicked, obviously not over his fear for her cousin and his threat of shooting him if he ever took a misstep.

"No, No I didn't."

"Stop it, Danno!"

To say things were awkward after that was an understatement. Chin kept throwing suspicious glares at Steve every few seconds and Danny was sitting across the table with a smug look on his face. Luckily Kamekona and Max had a lot to say and managed to keep the talk going without any assistance. Eventually they all had enough bear to be able to get home and Chin needed to get home to his wife, so they all said goodbye and went their separate ways. She and Steve jumped into his car and drove home.

They didn't say much but it was clear that neither one of them knew what to say, not wanting to overstep some unspoken line that could cause awkwardness or disagreement between them. Once at home they walked in a continued silence into the house, she followed Steve into the living room and when he stopped she stopped as well, a few meters away. He turned towards her with a conflicted look on his face. It was like he desperately needed to say something but he really didn't want to hurt her in any way.

"I want kids." He blurted out. That's kind of a good start she supposed. "I didn't before but ever since I got back home to Hawaii I've been thinking about it more. And I really want to have kids with you. Maybe we haven't talked about it, but I've always assumed that that was the direction we were going."

He was right she supposed. They were in relationship and had been for years, they were living together and neither of them really saw them breaking up in the future. So she supposed kids was a reasonable thought when you thought about it. They weren't exactly getting any younger, so she could see why he would have assumed that.

"It's not that I don't want kids, Steve." She started softly. "It's just… I'm not ready. If I were to get pregnant we would deal with it, but for now maybe we don't have to plan to start a family. Maybe in a year when this has sunk in I will feel different."

She tried to be diplomatic. It was not as if she thought having kids with him was the worst thing that could happen, quiet the opposite. But it was all so fast and she needed to get her head around it first. She normally was a go with flow kind of person, Steve as well. But when it came to her long time decisions and relationships, she often took her time and analysed everything, in an attempt from not making a mistake. Hopefully that would be enough for Steve, knowing that one day they could have a family, just not know.


	10. Chapter 10

The golden brown skin of her sternum was warm and felt like silk against his lips. He had been up for over an hour already, mentally preparing himself for a day out on a boat with Danny. It had originally been his idea, a bit of fishing, a bit of talking, a couple of beers, but looking at things now it might not have been his finest hour. Looking at the gorgeous girl next to him it was definitely not his finest hour.

Planting another kiss to her soft skin, he let his hands join in on the fun and traced them up and down. It had become his favourite thing to do since the night Kono had agreed to have kids. He couldn't wait until it would begin to grow with his child. Planting one final kiss he hugged her close and rested his head against her chest. It was at times like these he felt immensely grateful that Kono had stumbled into his life, the comfort that simply her sleeping form gave him was amazing and he couldn't picture his life without her anymore, there would be nothing to ground him or for him to hold onto.

"Urg!" Kono groaned. "Let me sleep you baboon! I don't have to be in the office until nine, we haven't got a case."

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself! We're gonna have a baby." He grinned and looked up at her sleep ridden eyes that were still half closed.

"Why, are you pregnant?"

"Nooo!" Jumping up so that he was hovering over her instead. "But you agreed, you want to have my kid."

"Maybe. I said maybe, in a year."

"Yes, well if we want to have a baby in a year we better get started, now don't we?"

He had been thinking about that one a lot. He knew exactly what she had meant by maybe in a year, he wasn't an idiot, but he figured there was no harm in trying. He could understand why it had surprised her, it had surprised him to, this sudden urge to have a baby and start a family. But he was stubborn and as soon as the thought had entered his head, it stuck there and refused to let go. Eventually he got used to it and it just grew on him, now it was his next mission in life. It might sound clinical to talk about it like a mission but he had always wanted a family, a secret desire of his and now that he had the chance he was not going to let it slip away.

Kono just smiled and shook her head in amusement, but he knew the idea was growing on her as well, he could see the glint of it in her eyes. But he also knew she wouldn't be the one to give in first hand, she would but up quiet the fight first.

"I said we would maybe start trying in a year. Not have an actually baby in our arms."

"That's not how I remember it." He mumbled into her neck as he teased her with his stubble.

"Go fish with Danny, maybe you two can have a baby." She used all of her force and pushed him off of her before turning over and burrowing her face in her pillow.

Chuckling he reluctantly followed orders and got out of bed, leaving the comfortable warmth behind. Not bothering with a shower, since he would just smell of fish afterwards anyway, he got dressed and trudged down to the kitchen that was now empty since his mother was staying at a friend's place for a couple of days. Picking out something quick to eat he was out the door in the ten minutes.

Arriving at the South Shore sailing club, Danny was already there waiting. They were going to borrow Chin's uncle's boat for the day and hopefully Danny would catch his first tuna. But he had barely gotten out of the car before he had to coerce Danny to get on the boat. So after a lot of nudging from his part they were finally on their way.

Well out on the ocean they settled back and cracked open a couple of beers, because to Danny it was not about catching the fish it was about relaxing and maybe if they were lucky, catch a fish.

"So how's the baby thing going?"

"You know… it's a working progress."

"Kono's not budging that easily huh?"

"You could say that." He laughed. "Well, she kind of agreed that we could maybe start trying in a year or so. I'm trying to move it forward a little."

"And how's that going for you?" Danny grinned.

"Not that good. Besides I got lines out to help me talk her over."

"Would one of those lines be Catherine?"

"Yeah!"

At that Danny just nodded and looked out over the water with a contemplating look on his face. There was a quiet moment when you could only hear the water hit the side of the boat before he turned back.

"What does Kono say about your relationship with Catherine?"

"Nothing. She knows we're just friends, like she has male friends."

"Does Catherine know that too?"

"Of course!" He exclaimed. "What is this?!"

"I just think it's curious that Kono is alright with you talking to another woman about starting a family and not with her." At that he had no answer, he didn't know what to say, so he did what he always did in an uncomfortable situation. He joked about it.

"Well I'm talking to you about it, aren't I?" He smirked, knowing that Danny would get the hint.

"Oh that's nice!" He grumbled. "Pick on the guy with feelings you Neanderthal!"

He was going to retaliate when they were interrupted by Danny's fishing rod. The pair of them rushed up in excitement and started to work somewhat together to rein the fish in. So the day actually turned out quite successful anyway. That was until he decided to play hero, Danny's words not his, and go rescue a man floating in a small dingy. How was he supposed to know the man had a gun? Jumping into the dingy he watched as the man drove away in their both and left to them die in what Danny liked to call it, a sinking dingy.

ooOoOoOoo

Kono had just gotten back to the office after she had gone out to buy and was about to sit down and eat when Catherine walked into the office. Frowning she put down her fork. Wasn't she supposed to pick up Steve for a catch-up lunch? It was the reason he had decided to take the entire day off for once.

"Hi!" She said and got up to meet their visitor. But it wasn't the usual, calm and collected Catherine that walked in. She seemed tense and slightly worried.

"Have you seen Steve? Is he here?"

"No. I thought you were going to pick him up at the club?"

"I was, but no one at the marina has seen them and they aren't picking up their cell phones."

"How late are they?" Kono asked and walked over to the smart table.

"I was supposed to pick them up three hours ago."

Typing quickly she tried to track their phones on the GPS but no luck. Luckily Chin could track the boat and they were quickly on their way there. It was a little disturbing not knowing what was going on. She knew that Steve, if anybody, could take care of himself. But things were looking very strange.

Arriving at the Marina they spotted the boat immediately. The boat was empty and they found both their guns and their badges in a bag, along with a dead fish in the cooler. But that was not all they found, Catherine found a torn shirt splattered with blood. She could practically feel her heart stop when Catherine came towards her with the bagged shirt. The shirt looked more like a shirt that Steve would wear than a shirt that the stylish Danny would, but she couldn't be sure since she was still asleep when Steve left this morning. The time it took for the lab to get back to them with results were painfully slow. But relief that came afterwards was so worth it. The blood did not belong to Steve. It didn't belong to Danny either for that matter. It did however belong to Gil Gates.

The three of them went to his small apartment and found a huge amount of brochures about luxury boats that he would not have been able to afford by the looks of things. Turning it upside down for clues they declared themselves done and was about to leave the apartment when Chin's phone went off.

"They are what?!" She heard Chin laugh and she could see the big smile on Chin's face. "No, no I can confirm that!... Okay thank you, we're on our way."

Turning towards them with a cherish grin he hung up the phone. "You're never going to guess what just happened!"

"What?"

"Steve and Danny have been arrested."

Kono didn't know if she should laugh at the irony or be furious for them to have landed themselves in that situation in the first place. She had a half mind to leave them stranded to get out of the situation themselves, but in the end she got in her car and drove back to the Marina to wait for her convict.

They stood on the docks the three of them and watched the big boat come in with the yacht in tow. Walking towards them came two sunburnt and worn out boys, Danny looked a little green and was very grateful to be back on land. Steve on the other hand was barefoot and smiling, walking towards her with open arms.

"I'm glad you are okay!" She said into his neck. Smiling she felt him placing a kiss where her neck met her shoulder. Danny threw them a nasty glare as he walked past them, clearly not happy at all.

"Hey, I'm fine!" He snapped and just kept walking.

"We were fine!" Steve called out after him. "Now we were lucky to find that boat, but we're fine."

"We're not fine okay?!" Danny exclaimed and turned back around. "What about the sharks? Tell him, about the shark!" Pointing towards Chin coming towards them from him car.

"Sharks?" Only her man could go out fishing and come across an armed murderer who steals their boat and strands them at sea, to then find a yacht with said man's victim dead on it.

"A shark. There was one shark, but it wasn't a big deal-"

"Of course it was a big deal, what are you talking about?!" Danny interrupted. "It was a big deal! Trust me!"

"We're back on dry land, safe and sound, what are-"

Luckily their quarrel was interrupted by Max's arrival and she had never been so grateful before in her life for his rambling and never ending knowledge. Though when he offers to help Danny with his sunburn and apply the aloe, the situation turned a little creepy. While the others led Max towards the yacht it was decided she would drive Catherine home before going to see the victim's family. She was just about to turn and walk after Catherine to her car, when Steve grabbed her arm.

"Aren't you going to offer to help me apply aloe to my burns?" He asked cheekily, clearly taking advantage of his situation which he seemed to be doing a lot lately.

"Down boy! I'll see you back at the office!" Laughing she walked away and jumped into the car with Catherine.

Her and Catherine's relationship was a bit of an odd one. Not only was Catherine an ex of Steve's, but she was also an ex he was still very close to. Steve was actually supposed to meet up with Catherine that day they ran into each other in Australia. But no matter how many times they reassured each other that they were fine with the history and the future, things were still a bit strained between the two of them. Despite that, they got along great. They were very much alike, sporty and more of a tomboy, they both liked adventures and preferred breakfast on the beach to dinner at a fancy restaurant. So you could say they were sort of good friends with some issues.

"So I heard from Steve that you guys were planning to have a baby."

"Uu-hm, yeah… We've talked about it." She stuttered and focused more than necessary on her driving.

"But you're not ready?" She asked softly.

"I don't know, it's not that. It's just… we've never talked about it before so it came like a shock, that's all."

"May I be crass and ask what the problem is then? He's a good man and he obviously love you, I have never seen him like this before Kono. That's pretty special if you ask me."

Hearing it like that it didn't sound so bad. A child is something made out of love after all, but despite that there was something in the back of her mind stopping her.

"Our lives are pretty crazy, how can we even begin to think about bring a kid into that?"

"You would make it work." Catherine said knowingly before turning on the radio, clearly stating that she had made her point.

ooOoOoOoo

As she came back to the office after interrogating the wife she met Chin in the doorway. They were going to stake the suspects place and bring the man in for Danny and Steve. After two hours of waiting they finally spotted the man and after a small struggle they had him cuffed and sitting in the backseat. But the real kicker came later when the technicians found that the boat had been sabotaged to break down in the middle of the ocean, something a murderer probably didn't want to happen.

Sometimes she was amazed by how greedy people could be, everything was about money and doing as little as possible. It turned out that the victim had call his lawyer just the day before he was murdered, he was going to divorce his wife. They had a prenuptial agreement and the wife would end up with nothing, but if the spouse died however she would end up with a whole lot of cash. The only thing they had to do now was to prove it, which the man in the interrogation room was going to help them with. And with the new evidence it didn't take a whole lot to get the man to realise he had been played all along to do the dirty work for a greedy woman. Though when they got to the house two gunshots rang out and the victim's sister walked out with a haunted look on her face and a gun in one of her hands. Inside lay the wife with two bullets in her chest and with no pulse. Kono couldn't help but think that maybe she got what she deserved for just a second before she came to her senses.

They watched the HPD take the sister away and Max the body of the deceased wife before they closed up shop and went home. Steve did not say much on the way home, he was clearly exhausted after his and Danny's big adventure and he looked ready to drop at any second now. She almost had to help him out of the car so he wouldn't fall on his face. Leading him upstairs he fell face first onto the bed, shoes on and all.

She helped him of with his shoes before pulling of his cargo pants, only receiving a groan in return. Laughing softly she struggled to take of his shirt, it was like moving a sack of potatoes. Placing his clothes over the stool on his side before sitting down next to him on the bed. Steve lay rigid and stiff on the bed, he didn't look comfortable at all. Taking pity on him she let her hands start to rub his shoulders before making their way down his back. She could feel him relaxing under her hands and before she knew it he had fallen asleep. Getting up she covered him with the blanket before removing her own clothes and crawling in beside him. Soon after she was also asleep.

ooOoOoOoo

The next day they all found themselves at Kamekona's for lunch, ready to dig into Danny's fish. Everyone was there, Max, Katherine and the team. It was nice. Leaning back into Steve's embrace they laughed at Danny's promise to never go fishing again. When Kamekona brought out the fish and everyone dug in, Steve leaned forward and pierced a piece of fish before bringing it up to her mouth. Swooning at his tender smile she followed him with her eyes as he leaned forward to take a taste himself.

"Not so bad right?" She heard Catherine from across the table and when she looked at the lieutenant her eyes were already on her. No one else raised an eyebrow, they just agreed to her statement thinking she was referring to the fish. But to Kono the message was clear, she was referring to their earlier conversation in her car. And this time she could see what it was Catherine had been talking about.

After they had finished off the fish and the highlight when Kamekona brought Danny the bill, they all said goodbye and went their separate ways. The others disappeared to their cars while she and Steve went down to the broadwalk to walk along the beach. The beach was packed with sunbathers and surfers in every age, there was barely any visible sand at all left.

During their walk they talked about this and that, nothing to serious or to heavy, and never once was the baby subject brought up until Steve made a hint when they were talking about his mother and how to tell Mary. That was when she got her window to bring it up.

"Do you remember that sex-trafficking case we had way back with the ambassador's daughters? I wanted to keep the madam's dog but you wouldn't let me, now you want a baby and I won't let you.

"Yeah… Where are you going with this?"

"What if I were to make a new deal with you. If you let me have a dog, I would be willing to have a baby with you without the one year wait." It was something she had just come up with the other day, how she had always wanted a dog and since Steve was so desperate to have a baby she decided to milk it for all that it was worth, to get two things instead of one. "What do you say?"

He was quiet for a moment before a huge grin spread across his face and he slung his arms around her shoulders, bring her in close.

"I say I better get you home straight away." Laughing she let him steer her back towards their car and didn't comment when he drove life mad man home, all she did was laugh at how ridiculously happy he was. Catherine was right, it wouldn't be so bad right?


	11. Chapter 11

It had been a week since Kono had given Steve her ultimatum and he was already starting to regret giving in. The dog was taking over completely. Not just the house but also his place in the house. All of Kono's attention seemed to go to the dog and the dog was just as possessive over her as Steve was, every time he tried to go near her the dog bared his teeth and growled at him. It was really starting to get on his nerves and he was even crankier than usual. The most irritating thing of all was the fact that Kono didn't seem to notice it at all, she was perfectly content to cuddle with the pup the minute she got through the door instead of him. Every time he tried to point it out or was, as she called it, rude to dog he would end up on the couch instead of the dog and it would take his place in the bed.

But the dog was not his only problem, his mother was back in town and she found his situation hilarious and did everything she could to egg it on when she wasn't acting suspiciously, or he was just too tried and cranky that he was starting to get paranoid. To top it all of he was on his way to a crime scene, he had barely had a week off work since working nonstop for weeks. Normally he would welcome the full schedule but right now he just wanted to enjoy an empty, dog free and quiet house.

Arriving at the scene he was met by the most bizarre thing yet. A man on a horse who got his head chopped off, and not only that there were psychics involved, something he could not stand so he sent of Danny and Kono to deal with it, as payback for the dog. Since they had not got much to go on for the moment and he was still paranoid about his mother, he sent Chin to check up on her, hoping he could dig up something to confirm or deny his suspicions. He himself went back to the office to look up the victim to try and find some leads.

The more they found out about the case they found out it just got more and more complicated. It went from suspected blackmailing gone wrong to the wrong victim, it turned out that their headless horseman was not supposed to up on the practice field at that time, that it was actually the Polo-club's owner's son who was supposed to be there.

Arriving back at the office after questioning the Madsen family, he was surprised to find Chin already there.

"Chin, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be on Doris-duty."

"Your mom saw me coming a mile away!" Chin whispered.

"Why are we whispering?" But before Chin could answer he got his answer. Out of his office came his mother, looking slightly amused but mostly annoyed.

"Coco puffs, really Steve?" He glared at Chin as if it was his faults but his mother was quick to correct him, saying she had forced Chin to bring her, which was probably true.

Arguing with his mother was like arguing with Danny. They didn't want to see reason, alas his point of view, and they would not give up for their life. It was like they were incapable of doing wrong and they would not shut up, they nagged your ears off before they left. It was exhausting, that plus the dog and the love of his life ignoring him, he would probably be dead before he turned forty. After she finally agreed to go home and stay there he went back to Chin at the smart table to see what he got.

"What do you got?"

"Some info on Jake Madsen to figure out who would want him dead. Turns out Jake was kidnapped, ten years ago. It was actually a big case at the time, HPD worked it along with FBI. He was abducted outside of his school and the kidnappers held him for almost two weeks. They cut of his finger and mailed it back to his parents as proof of life with a ransom demand of 20 million dollars."

"Did the Madsens make the trade?" How could someone be so cruel, that they cut of an innocent boy's finger for money? It was at times like these that he lost faith in the human race.

"They didn't have a chance. Jake actually escaped before the ransom was payed."

"Brave kid!"

"Yeah and after the kidnappers were arrested it was Jake's testimony that put them away." Taking a deep breath, Steve couldn't do anything but admire the kid. Ten years old and be that brave, to stand up to people who had hurt him, that is something he would have never been able to do at that age.

"Life must have been hard for him after that, always looking over his shoulder."

They looked deeper into the old kidnapping case and found that the kidnapper that was still alive had gone missing two days ago, which was slightly alarming to Steve. Two days gave the man just the time he needed to not only scope out the place but also able to find out where and when Jake would be somewhere, to find the best time to strike. But seeing as he failed the first time, he would probably come after the kid a second time as well.

Kono went back to the Madsen estate but was a few seconds to late, she arrived just in time to watch the family's car explode with the mother about to get in, Jake just a few steps behind her. Suddenly they had a new crime scene.

He and Danny went out to meet up with Kono to check things out and that's when the exhaustion hit him full force. Without a word he threw the keys to Danny, actually letting him drive his own car for once, that's how bad it was. When they arrived at the scene he was really short with Kono as she debriefed them, he knew he was being an arse. But in his current mood, his tiredness was because of the bloody dog that she so badly wanted to have, that was currently acting like a constant cock-blocker. He left without a word after they had received information from Charlie and the remaining pieces of the bomb. As he walked towards his car he could practically feel Kono's eyes watching him until he disappeared out of sight, but he couldn't really be bothered to look back.

In the car on the way back to the office with Danny he took over the wheel again and the whole time Danny kept staring at him like he couldn't believe him. He could practically hear Danny's thoughts that was how loud they were, but he didn't say a word knowing that he would soon get to hear them anyway. And he was right, he didn't have to wait for too long for Danny to explode.

"What the hell is the matter with you?!" He exclaimed with his big, elaborate hand gestures.

"What?" Steve said, playing dumb. He knew exactly what Danny meant.

"Kono!" He yelled. "What could possibly sweet, beautiful, kind Kono have done to you to deserve the way you treated her back then? She is you girlfriend, g-i-r-l-f-r-i-e-n-d, you do not treat them like that if you still want to be with them. You are lucky to have her my friend!"

"I know." He interrupted Danny in paus for breath, stopping him from talking more.

"You know! That's good! Then please explain what that was all about." He took a sharp turn before stepping on the accelerator, preparing himself for his doom. Once he said this to Danny he was as good as dead.

"It's the damn dog! It is everywhere! On my bed, in my spot on the sofa. Even on my spot with Kono! I can't even go near her without risking my life or lose a limb. I have not slept, touched or kissed Kono for over a week and she can't even see it. So I guess I have been taking out my anger on her a bit." And as expected Danny started to laugh.

"Haha, this is hilarious! You are jealous of a dog!"

"I'm not jealous!" He protested, although very weakly because he knew that it was actually true.

"Yes you are." He didn't say another word the entire way back to the office, he just pretended that Danny didn't exist.

After he had bribed Catherine to look into the bomb to speed things up, a lot of things happened at once. Danny found Jake's missing kidnapper and he quickly went to join in on the chase, which ended up with him taking a dive into the canal and having to take a tetanus shot. They got the bad guy and after that things took a real turn towards weird. He and Danny went downstairs to interrogate the man, he claimed that he was payed by someone else to do it which actually turned out to be true and that's when their heads started turning. Catherine's findings about the bomb gave them their third intended target for the day. This time the mother, the bomb was placed in the passenger door and there was no screw up on the kidnapper's part, he was instructed to do so. The motive became obvious when the results from a second phone they found arrived. Amanda Madsen had an affair with Billy, the headless horseman.

Their new findings required a talk with Amanda who was, when they last checked, stable and awake. But when they arrived at the hospital staff was leaving her room and a beeping sound could be heard. Running into her room they found Amanda dead, someone had smothered her with her own pillow. And according to the security cameras that someone was no one other than her son, Jake.

Jake hated his mother after she let him down when she was kidnapped and thought his father was weak for not standing up to her, so when he found out about his mother's affair he told his father. When he in turn refused to do anything about it Jake decided to take matters into his own hands.

It had been quiet the emotional case and Steve was just glad to see the back of it, it had questioned a lot of morals as it at the same time was understandable at times. Now he was going to get some food and some sleep even if it killed him.

ooOoOoOoo

He turned off the lights in his office and was about to go over to Kono and see if she wanted to get take out for dinner, but her office was already dark and empty, he had not even seen her leave. It was probably her way of showing she was not happy about his behaviour earlier. Which was very understandable. Sighing he locked up and jumped into his car, driving by their favourite take out place at the moment on his way home.

The lights were already on and the door was unlocked when he arrived but when he walked around the house he couldn't find Kono anywhere. Coming back downstairs after checking the bedroom he stopped in the living room for a moment and that's when he heard noises coming from outside. Walking to the patio doors he found Kono laying in the hammock with the black Labrador pup on her stomach, talking to it in a silly baby voice and the dog barking as answer.

He stood there and watched them and after a while it became quiet, walking closer he noticed that Kono had closed her eyes. Seeing his chance he walked up to them, the dog growling softly as it watched him approach but not loud enough to alert Kono. He kneeled down next to her and brought his face close to hers. His lips were just about to touch hers when the dog let out a loud bark, making Kono jerk and open her eyes.

"Are you kidding me buddy?!" He exclaimed quiet peeked that he had yet again been interrupted. Kono let out a loud belly laugh and sported the first real smile he had seen all day.

"He doesn't like you very much." She said after she had calmed down. "Can't say I blame him."

"I know." He sighed. "And I'm sorry! I didn't mean to take it out on you, I was just frustrated and tired that's all."

"How are you going to manage when the baby comes?" She laughed. Which was probably true. If he couldn't handle a puppy, how was he going to cope with a screaming toddler or a rebellious teenager?

"I'm sorry!" He laughed and leaned his head against her arm.

"I know, you're forgiven."

"Good because I bought take out." He said and looked up.

"My man." Kono grinned and he couldn't help but grin back. Things were starting to look up. Leaning down he was just about to kiss her again when the dog puffed its head up between them and liked him across the cheek.

"You've got to be kidding me!" He exclaimed. "That's it buddy." He lifted up the puppy and set him down on the ground before heaving himself up and lay down on top of Kono. She on the other hand was laughing her arse off, she apparently didn't understand his frustration at all, that was about to change. He was planning to play her all evening and bring her towards the edge over and over before she was begging for him to give her what she wants. It was going to be a long night, sleep could wait a little longer.


	12. Chapter 12

12.

Interrupted by the sound of a gleeful laugh, Kono put down her knife to see what was going on. She looked up from her pumpkin and spotted Grace sitting on top of the workbench next to Steve as he carved his pumpkin. The man was and always has been very skilful with a knife and his hands, a skill he was showing off to the little girl who was watching him eagerly. Kono looked over Steve's shoulder to see what had entranced Grace and was amazed by the sight. The face of his pumpkin was very detailed and vivid. Looking over at her own she quickly realized that Steve's was the one that would be standing out on the front porch.

Picking up her knife again, Kono turned back to her own work but was soon interrupted again by a happy noise coming from Grace. She watched as Grace moved over to her own pumpkin and Steve walking over to stand behind her. Together they picked up the knife and started to carve the pumpkin, Steve leading Grace's hand. Very slowly a face started to come forth and looking very much like a girly-girl's face. Obviously a request from Grace.

Kono stopped her own work for a second to watch the two of them working together with a soft smile. It was a very heart-warming sight and something that was very much worth remembering. She ran into the house and the living room and picked up her newly bought camera for moments just like this whenever they spent time together with the family. It was a trait she had inherited from her mother, who documented everything throughout the years and it was something Kono had come to appreciate, it was a nice thing to have.

She snapped a couple of photos of the two before moving quietly about the house to take pictures of the rest of the family who was decorating their house. Malia was in the kitchen, cooking up a feast and Chin ran in there every five minutes to steal a kiss and a taste, leaving Danny standing on top of a ladder looking like a fool. They were supposed to hang up Grace's decorations she had made in school, but they had not gotten too far. Kamekona's job on the other hand was the most honourable of them all. He had the important task of keeping track of Sammy and make sure that the little pup didn't cause any mayhem. But Sammy and Grace, his name giver, had created a special bond and Kamekona was not the sharpest keeper there was, so the little mutt kept escaping and running out to Grace.

"Kono, come look!" Grace called from the backyard.

One last picture of Sammy, Kono went back out to the backyard to find both Steve and Grace grinning from ear to ear. Proudly they lifted up pumpkin and showed off their masterpiece. It was incredible! The eyes had long laches and the lips looked almost kissable, it even had hair. It made yet another picture.

"It looks amazing, Grace!"

"Uncle Steve helped." The girl stated proudly and beamed up at Steve, who grinned back. A few minutes later everyone was out in the backyard admiring their handy work before it joined the rest of the decorations.

When Grace took Danny inside to place her pumpkin in the perfect spot, Kono walked quietly up to Steve where he stood watching Grace and her father by the workbench. She wrapped her arms around his waist under his shirt and enjoyed the feeling of his warm and rippled body beneath her hands. Leaning her head against his chest, she felt Steve's arms wrapping themselves around her, closing her in with their warmth.

"That was a very nice thing of you to do."

"I'm a nice guy." Steve said smugly before he planted a kiss to her forehead. "No, but she is a great kid. It was nothing."

"Don't forget that that good kid is making us dress up later." Kono laughed, remembering Steve's face when Grace first dropped the bomb that they were all joining her and Danny trick-or-treating. His reaction was the same this time. He scowled at her and pinched her lightly in the side, something Steve had come to do whenever she teased him. It just made it all the more fun when you got a reaction out of him. "Isn't that right, Grace? You and I found a costume for Uncle Steve earlier when we were shopping."

"Yeah!" The girl lit up and ran into the spare bedroom and come back a few seconds later with a bag in her hands.

Everyone gathered around Grace as she poured the bag's contents onto the dining table. A pair of leather pants, something Steve would never be caught dead in, a wig with dreadlocks and sable sword, another thing he would never go near. Well maybe the sable sword, he do like his weapons. Everything in the bag was paired up with one of his white shirts and his boots. They wanted him to dress up as a pirate, Kono for very selfish reasons, and not just any pirate either. They wanted him to dress up as the pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow.

Steve looked over at Kono with a death stare, thinking it was probably she who had put the girl up to it and planted the idea into Grace's head, which would be correct. Her man was not stupid. She and Steve had had a huge discussion the other day about hot actors and actresses when she dropped the bomb that there was nothing hotter than Jack Sparrow. She did it partly because she knew it would cause a reaction and what a reaction it had been. Steve had not been pleased with her and gotten jealous, he made her eat up her words, but somehow she suspected that he had not forgotten about it. So when the opportunity presented itself to pull his tail a little, Kono took it.

Everyone else went into an unoccupied room to change into their own costumes, leaving the two of them alone. Steve took the few steps that separated them and pinned her against the table.

"The only reason I'm doing this is because of you, you do know that right?" Steve said lowly and Kono could hear the underlying promise.

"I know. But you are going to look so good in those clothes." Kono smiled up at him.

"Mhm." Steve nipped at her lips as he kept staring into her eyes, keeping her captive against the table. "So… If you get to choose my costume, does that mean I get to choose yours?"

"No."

"No?" He said astonished, he was definitely not used to hearing the word no and being denied anything.

"No. Because I already have my costume waiting for me."

"That is so unfair!" Steve complained and pressed closer to her and buried his face in her neck. Goosebumps broke out on Kono's skin with every breath Steve took that hit her neck. She knew, that he knew exactly what he was doing to her. Her legs turned into jelly and she could feel her heart beating like a jet-hammer. Just as she though he was about to finally kiss her, he backed away with a very smug smile.

"Wh-what?"

"I need to get ready for some piracy, and I think you need to get dressed as well." With that he picked up his clothes and walked away to head upstairs to their bedroom, leaving her behind feeling so flustered she wanted to scream.

ooOoOoOoo

One by one, the people in the house gathered in the living room, ready to head out for some trick-or-treating. Grace was an adorable bumblebee, Steve had hooked Kamekona up with some camouflage and Chin and Malia were dressed up as doctors. Everyone's costumes looked real and genuine, except for Danny's. He was a superhero dressed in his usual clothes, dress pants and a shirt, with a red cape. It was sad really. Kono herself was dressed as Pocahontas, with a mocha skirt with fringes and a cropped top. There were feathers in her hair and bangles around her wrists. The only person they were waiting for now was Steve who had yet to resurface from the bedroom and Grace was starting to get impatient.

"Uncle Steve, let's goooo! I waaant some candy!"

They heard some grumbling before steps were coming down the stair case. And boy did he look good. Butterflies were fluttering in her stomach and if they had been alone she would have pounced on him the moment he stepped down from the stairs. But unfortunately they weren't. Everybody ready they lined up to go out the door with Grace in the lead.

*Ring* *Ring*

All seven of them groaned at the sound of Steve's phone. Grace was the loudest and obviously knew what it meant, they would all have to leave and there would be no trick-or-treating.

"Steve McGarrett.- Yes, we are on our way!" The call ended quickly and Steve turned towards the rest of them. "We've caught a case."

"You guys go!" Malia said and walked over to Grace who sitting on the stair with a sad look on her face. "Grace and I will go trick-or-treating and you go do your thing."

"Really?!" Grace peaked up immediately and almost bounce up and down with joy.

"Are you sure?" Danny asked looking hopeful, he really didn't want to disappoint his daughter.

"Yeah, of course! Besides, it will be good practise." With that she and Grace walked out the door, leaving the rest of them dumbfound. She could be-? They all turned towards Chin but he gave nothing away and just walked into the bathroom to change. The closing of the door brought the rest of them out of their stupor and rush away to get dressed.

ooOoOoOoo

It was like the whole universe felt that it was Halloween because this was by far the most disturbing case she had ever worked. There were witches and rituals with sick methods, requiring someone to cut out organs out of a living human being. People were sick, that's for sure.

What started as a simple car accident turned into a kidnapping and they were now outside in a dark alley, on Halloween, looking for Lisa Heller's belongings. Kono was seriously freaked out and just waited for something to come jumping out of one of the containers at any moment. Taking her flashlight she pointed it towards the container furthest in the alleyway and when she opened the lid, something did jump out at her. Letting out a frightened sound, she jumped ten feet up in the air before she realised it was just a damn cat.

"You okay, babe?" Came Steve's amused voice from behind. He obviously found her reaction amusing, the big Navy SEAL would never get frightened by something as silly as a cat.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She grumbled and went back over to the container and lifted the lid once more, prepared for any more jumping cats. Only this time she got an even bigger shock.

There was blood and a long, plastic bag, opening it up she found Lisa Heller. Dead. The poor girl had just intended to go out to a party where she met up with a guy and hopefully go home with him at the end of the night, instead she ended up in a body bag and dumped in an alleyway.

"Guys!" She called. "I found Lisa Heller!"

Soon the entire alleyway was lit up and full of people taking pictures, dusting for prints and looking for clues. As soon as the medical examiner van arrived they were cleared to leave and go home for some hours of sleep, their kidnapping case had now turned into a homicide investigation. Kono was leaning against the hood of Chin's car, waiting for him to finish so that they could leave.

"Kono, you're riding with me!" Steve called as he walked towards her, sporting a small smile. "Come on, let's go home!" He took her hand and led her over to his car, which he had somehow managed to drive instead of taking Danny's car for once.

After just a couple hours of sleep they were back in the office and things just got weirder the longer the day went on. Some sick bastard had cut out the poor girl's organ when she was still alive and that someone was not the guy she had left the party with, but some stalker wearing a goat's head. The whole thing freaked her out and did not sit right with her. How could someone do that to another person?

The real struggle now was to find the person who did it, since they had no evidence what so ever or any lead of whom it might be. It was first when they found out what kind of ritual the guy was doing that they realised they had a clock on them to find they person responsible, he was going to do another sacrifice at midnight with the boy from the party.

Kono was currently in the office with Chin, trying to find something, anything really, to go on that could lead them to their suspect. They had been through every possible option but they had come up empty handed every time. And they were running out of options to find some sort of connection between the two victims and a third party, but they were out of new ideas. So instead they were leaning back and waiting for Steve and Danny to come back and hopefully they had some ideas or something new.

"So…" Kono began, thinking of what Malia had said yesterday and Chin's peculiar reaction. "Malia is pregnant, huh?"

Chin looked up from his screen and starred at her, slightly shocked. "You're too smart for your own good!"

"Come on!" Kono exclaimed. "We all know that you were planning to start a family as soon as possible and her comment yesterday wasn't exactly innocent."

"True!" He admitted before turning back to his screen, clearly indicating that she should do the same. It took a few moments but then he interrupted the silence again. "So… What do you think?"

Kono took her time and she could see how nervous it made Chin. It was not a secret that for a while there she was not Malia's biggest fan, so somewhere Chin was probably worried that Kono's bitterness still remained. But Kono was long past that. Malia had proven her wrong on several occasions and now that she finally knew the truth about Chin and Malia's split, she could see how happy Malia made him.

Shutting down her computer she pushed herself away from the desk and walked over to Chin with a sombre look on her face, not giving away a thing. She tried to keep a straight face for as long as possible but she was far too happy and threw her arms around her cousin.

"You're going to be a dad! I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks cus!" Chin wore the biggest grin Kono had ever seen before and she could tell that he was beyond ecstatic at the prospect of becoming a father.

They had just broken apart when Danny and Steve joined in on the party and there was another hug-fest before they realised they had to get back to work.

ooOoOoOoo

Kono was sitting curled up in the passenger seat of Steve's car as he drove them home and she just could not get tonight's images out of her head. They had finally caught a lead and found their man, now all they had to do was catch him. So they went over to his house where he lived with his grandmother, only to find her sitting stoic in her chair with blood spatter on the floor. An officer was going to take her back to the station for questioning since she had obviously known all along what her grandson was up to. Twenty minutes later she had shot the officer before shooting herself in the head. The grandmother had sent them to the other side of the island, in hope it would give her grandson some time to escape and go into hiding. They all feared they were not going to make it on time, but they made it to the ritual site just as the man was about to plunge the knife into his victim.

Everything about the case disturbed her. What was it about Halloween that always brought out the crazies? It seemed that every year the cases just got weirder and more disturbing. But this definitely topped the list. Just the thought of it made her shiver in her seat.

"Are you okay?"

"I've seen a lot of sick things doing what we do. People killing people for the most trivial things, like money or revenge, and they make a big deal of it. But this, this is by far the most disturbing of them all." Kono said quietly, looking out of the window, watching the nightlife swish pass. "Two completely innocent people had their lives ruined, one was even killed. And for what?! For a guy who killed animals as a kid will feel some sort of satisfaction?! I just don't get it."

Steve reached over the console and grabbed her hand. It was pretty safe to say that the case and moved them all and that none of them would forget it in a hurry.

"The guy was sick, Kono. It is not right, but sometimes that's how it is."

"But the grandmother knew he was sick and didn't do anything about it. She let him do those sick things to those people! Who does that?"

"I know, Kono." That was all he said and started rubbing his thumb over her knuckles instead, as a silent comfort.

Ten minutes later Steve pulled up in the driveway and they went inside. Everything looked just as they had left it the night before when they had gotten the call. The decorations were still in place, looking a little lonely now in the aftermath of things. The bowls of candy were still full and standing next to the door, Kono was surprised to see that someone had not egged the house while they were gone and no one to answer the door. Neither Steve nor Kono bothered to clean up or walk through the house, both of them went immediately up the stairs to their bedroom.

Both of them were exhausted, today's event had really taken it out on them. They kicked off their clothes and left them there on the floor, not even Steve bothered to pick them up like he used to, and climbed into bed before turning off the lights. Kono immediately scooted over to Steve's side and curled up against him, resting her head on his chest. Today had really shaken her up and there was nothing or no one else that made her feel safe as Steve did.

ooOoOoOoo

The next day they decided to do a do-over of Halloween, costumes, movies, candy. The whole package. Steve and Chin threw some stakes on the barbeque, since Malia's wonderful food was now too old, while she, Malia and Grace baked a cake in the kitchen. Sammy, who had spent the night with Malia and Grace, was running around the house with all of his toys, moving them from one hiding spot to the next. He too, clearly enjoyed being back home.

When the food was all gone and all the dishes had been piled up nicely in the sink, they all made their way to the living room and squeezed into every available surface. Kamekona took up half the couch, with Chin and Malia taking the other half. Kono and Steve squeezed together in the armchair with Kono half draped over Steve's lap. Grace had the common sense to drag out a matrass from the spare bedroom where she lay down in Danny's lap, holding onto Sammy who happily fell asleep in her arms. Steve pressed play and within minutes they were all engrossed into the movie.

"Hey, look at big guy over there." Steve whispered into her ear, half way through the movie. Looking to her left, Kono spotted Kamekona with his head resting on his chest, clearly asleep if the snoring was any indication.

"He's a real party dude that one!"

"Indeed!" Steve laughed before turning back to the movie.

Kono who had been totally engrossed before Steve disturbed her, now found that she could not get back into it. Instead she kept looking up at Steve who was deep into the movie again. The flashing light from the TV illuminated his face and made him look so secretive and handsome. He looked so relaxed, which was a rarity with him. There always seemed to be something pressing down on his mind or someone going after him, but things were finally getting better. He knew what happened to his mom and she was alive and well, living in town. Wo-Fat was no longer an issue and he had not made enemies with anyone else lately, so for once in his life he could really relax and let everything go.

When the movie was over everyone started to make their way home, Danny carrying a sleeping Grace in his arms. Once again they decided to leave all the washing and cleaning up until morning and opted going to bed instead. Kono was walking towards the stairs when Steve grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back.

"You haven't forgotten that I promised to get you back for this costume, now have you?" She shivered at the sound of his voice. He was talking in that low, husky voice that she loved. It was soft, yet so commanding and so him at the same time. Shaking her head, she waited with bated breath for his next move. But it never came.

She turned around to face and fund him just standing there, starring at her. It was like she got hypnotised by his eyes, she totally lost herself in them and that's when he pounced, like he had expected that. Without her even realising it, he had her in her arms and climbing up the stairs. She had mention sometime during the day that she wished to forget what had happened so that she could get a proper night's sleep, and did he make her forget. When they both fell back in a sweaty heap, blissfully happy, she was so worn out that she could sleep until next week.


	13. Chapter 13

13.

Steve was so nervous that he could not stand still and it was bugging the hell out of Danny and Chin too who was standing next to him. Today was the day he had been dreading for months. Today was the first time Kono would compete in a professional competition since the time she destroyed her knee. Steve had not watched her to surf for real since the time he watched her go down with the wave. It was too painful and all he could do when he saw her up on a wave, was to associate to the fear and helplessness he felt the time she got injured. He didn't want to feel like that ever again. But yet here he was.

He had tried to talk her out of it for weeks, but Kono was determined to do it, shooting him down every time. They had huge arguments about it where he let his emotions get the best of him, he had used every seduction technic he could. But still she was determined to compete and put him through all of that.

Chin and Danny thought he was ridicules, they had become both his and Kono's ball planks over the weeks, hearing about every argument they had. They didn't see the problem. In their opinion if Kono was good and well enough to jump out of moving cars and chasing bad guys she would probably be able to handle the waves that she rode every single day. They all thought it would be fun to see Kono in action again after watching all of her surfing tapes on late nights in the office. But Steve was holding on to his objections and could find no enjoyment what so ever.

"Babe, come on! Stop with the pacing, you are making us dizzy." Danny yelled exasperatedly at him, with Chin grinning amusedly at him.

"She shouldn't be doing this!" He said when he came back to stand next to them.

"Will you relax?! She surfs here every day and has done for her entire life. I think she can handle it!" It was the same conversation over and over again and Steve knew they were growing tired of his anxiety.

Kono was standing down by the waterfront, dressed in a light blue wet-shirt over her yellow bikini, with four other surfers. They were all waiting for the current surfers to get out of the water so that they could line up for their heat. Kono was watching the water intently, studying all the waves and their pattern. Steve could tell how excited she was by the look in her eyes. She was reviling in the adrenaline that surrounded her, this was her scene.

Before he knew it, the horn was blown and Kono and the other four girls were running out in the water with their boards under their arms. Both Chin and Danny started to clap and cheer, but Steve just stood there with his arms crossed, legs wide and a stoic face. The twenty minutes she was out there were the longest twenty minutes of his life. Every time she got up on a wave he held his breath until she had ridden it out. He couldn't wait until this day was over and he could take her home. Only two more heats to go.

The entire beach was packed with people for the biggest surf event of the year, for the locals' at least. Every pro that had ever originated from Hawaii met up for the competition of the year to prove who the best is, and it seemed that the entire island had showed up.

Kono's second heat started and he acted pretty much the same as at her first one. Of course she won that one as well and he had to go through it a third time. He always thought he would go down by a bullet but now there was a big chance he would drop down dead in the sand any second. The third and final heat started and the first two waves went fine, but the third had him almost passing out. Kono and another girl got up on the same wave, not seeing the other, and they slammed right into each other before going down and under water. Steve could feel his heart drop to his stomach and casting a sideway glance he could see that Chin and Danny was worried too. Five seconds later both Kono and the other girl came up from the water, laughing and dunking each other on the back. Steve could swear he had just aged ten years right there and then.

ooOoOoOoo

The rest of the afternoon passed pretty slowly, too slowly in Steve's opinion. There was the price ceremony and later on the press photoshoot with all the competitors. Kono spent the entire afternoon with her friends, which Steve really didn't mind, he knew she missed them and didn't get to see them often enough, but he really longed to have her in his arms right now.

He has become very spoiled over the last six months they had been living together. He had gotten so used to waking up to her every morning and then spend the whole day with her at work before coming home and fall asleep next to her. This was probably the first time that he woke up without her next to him and one of them wasn't on the other side of the world. She had left super early to go get some breakfast with some friends before heading to the beach to prepare. If the other ever left early one morning they would wake up the other a little to say goodbye and so on, but this time Kono had forgotten it in her excitement and Steve was left disappointed. He couldn't wait for the day to be over and he could take her home, but he was sadly disappointed once more.

Kono came walking towards him, Danny and Chin with a big smile on her face, her happiness clearly displayed in her eyes, and Steve immediately took her in his arms and gave her a quick kiss which she returned.

"Congratz, you did amazing!" He whispered against her lips before he pulled away and let Danny and Chin move forward.

"Thank you!"

After more hugging and congratulations Kono was back in his arms as she listened to Danny talk.

"I still don't see the appeal of standing on a piece of wood in the water and doing a bunch of trick, but I have to say that you did good!"

"Thanks Danno!" She leaned back into Steve's chest and was just about to say something when her friends called from afar.

"Kono! Are you coming?" They were standing in a big crowd a little further away and waving fervently.

"Yeah!" She called back, before turning back to them. "So my friends are going to go out for some food beers, do you guys want to come?" She asked with her best puppy eyes, clearly something she had learned from Sammy, and there was no way that they could say no. So it was with mild irritation that Steve got into the car and drove over to the restaurant that lay in the opposite direction of home.

ooOoOoOoo

The dinner was fun, but it couldn't end fast enough for Steve. Everyone had something interesting to say and the stories were all amazing, they all had lived a so different life from his and it was fun to hear. They seemed to be as interested in how Kono's life as a cop was and asked him, Chin and Danny for all the scoop every chance they got, so they never really ran out of something to talk about. But the main subject was his and Kono's relationship. They had all heard her talk about a "Steve" during their time on the circuit, but they had never actually met him. Kono's girlfriends found it extra interesting that he was now her boss.

Steve could tell Kono was enjoying herself but that something wasn't quite right. She kept shifting in her seat and tried to hide a yawn every few minutes, so at the first opportunity that presented itself he made and excuse and they took their leave. Chin and Danny came along and Kono almost fell asleep in the car as they dropped them off.

"Hey Sleepyhead!" He said and nudged her lightly after Chin closed the door and he started to drive home. "We're almost home."

"Give me a break Steve, I just had a major surf comp today!" Steve just smiled at her grumpy attitude and watched as curled up into a ball in her seat.

Ten minutes later they were home, and that ten minute nap seemed to have done wonders because she jumped out of the car with a smile. Kono walked ahead to the house as he grabbed her bag from the backseat, but he did a double take as he watched her limb through the door. He hurried up to the

house just in time to watch her disappear up the stairs and a few seconds later he heard the shower running. Steve waited in their bedroom, sitting on the bed, but after ten minutes without hearing any movement from the bathroom he walked in only to find Kono sitting on the floor in the shower.

"What are you doing on the floor?" Her head snapped up and she watched him through the glass doors.

"Nothing!" She said, but Steve knew she was lying and remembered her limping.

Shaking his head, Steve walked over and turned off the shower and helped her get up before wrapping her in a towel. Without a word he swooped her up in his arms and walked out to bedroom and lay her down in the middle of the bed. He sat down, facing her, and put her leg in his lap so that h could massage her knee. A few seconds later Sammy joined them on the bed and curled up to Kono's side. Normally he didn't allow the dog to be in the bed, but he made an exception when he saw Kono in pain.

"You okay?" He asked quietly, concentrating on his task.

"Mm, that feels good!" Kono moaned and closed her eyes. "I guess my knee isn't used to that much pressure."

"Or maybe it was the fall." Steve mumbled, but Kono heard him and opened one eye to glare at him before laying back down.

"Give it a rest Steve! I just did three heats, it is very different from what I usually do so of course I would feel it afterwards."

He kept quiet and continued his massage and when he thought Kono had fallen asleep he got up from the bed to go into the bathroom to take a shower. But he didn't get far when a hand reached out and grabbed him.

"Hold me." Kono begged and scooted over a little and moved Sammy to the floor. There was no way he was going to pass up an offer like that when he had longed for that very thing all day. He crawled onto the bed next to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'm fine, Steve." She after a few minutes of silence.

"I know." He admitted.

"And I can take care of myself, I just got a little worn out which is normal."

"I know."

"Good! So can we stop with the whole over-protectiveness?"

Steve agreed but they both knew that it would never happen. He might calm down a little for a while but once push came to show he would go into SEAL mood and defend his territory. Both of them also knew that Kono secretly liked when he became liked that, it just proved to her how much she really mattered to him when he sometimes failed to show it. No matter how much she protested, she loved him for it.


	14. Chapter 14

14.

Kono had been tiptoeing around Steve for the last two weeks, ever since she had gotten back her results from her doctor's appointment. Every time the subject of babies was brought up she either ran out of the room or pounced on him so that she wouldn't spill. When she found out that she was pregnant, she decided to keep it to herself and tell Steve on his birthday. But the problem was that she was the worst with keeping secrets, the guys could always tell when she wasn't being completely honest, especially Steve. And now, the stress of it all was really getting to her.

The test results were currently hidden in her underwear-draw, hopefully the only place Steve wouldn't think to look if he suspected something, but then again maybe it was. He didn't like surprises and since their first stunt on his birthday after he got back to Hawaii he always grew more suspicious around it. One year he almost tore their house upside down to see if he could find some master plan of theirs. So maybe the draw had not been the best place after all, but it was too late for that now. His birthday was today and she was supposed to wake him up at any second.

It was Sunday, their day for sleeping in, and for once they had not been woken up by their phones ringing. Steve was currently sleeping next to her with his face down in the pillow, but she had been up for hours, too nervous to sleep. Deep down she knew that he would be ecstatic by the news, it was what he wanted, but somehow she couldn't help herself from worrying.

Kono got out of bed and took out the test results before climbing back into bed. She started to stroke up and down on his back and could feel him slightly stir beneath her fingers.

"Good morning, birthday boy!" She cooed in his ear and waited for him to open his eyes.

"Morning!" Came a muffled reply from the pillow.

"Open up those pretty blue eyes, or you will not get your present."

"Letting me sleep is a present enough." He grumbled and turned his face away, making Kono laugh at his childish behaviour. She never thought she would ever get to use the word childish when talking about Steve.

"Since when are you a sleepyhead?!"

"Since we have been working nonstop all week!"

"Come on, Steve! Wake up!" She pleaded and showed him lightly.

After a lot of grumbling and mumbling, he reluctantly sat up and leaned back against the pillows. Kono crawled up the bed and straddled his legs, his hands immediately finding her hips. She held up the folded paper and unfolded it for Steve to see. His eyes quickly scanned the paper and by the stunned look on his face, he knew exactly what it said.

"Happy birthday, Daddy!"

Steve didn't say anything for several minutes and then suddenly she was squeezed so tightly to his chest she could barely breathe. Kisses was constantly prepped against her clavicle and she could hear him murmuring against her skin, but she couldn't make out what he was saying.

They sat like that for minutes, holding onto each other tenderly before Steve pulled away and lay her down gently on the bed. He lifted up the hem of his t-shirt that she was wearing and just started at her stomach and the non-existing bump. His touch was electrifying, the tenderness so intense it sent shockwaves through her body and made Goosebumps break out all over her skin. And the way he looked at her brought tears to her eyes, she had never seen him like this before, so overcome by his emotions and so open with it.

"How long?" Steve asked lowly with a gruff voice.

"Four weeks. I only found out last week when I went to the doctors after I passed out from the cut on my head. It apparently was because I was pregnant, not suffering from a concussion." She responded, just as quietly so that she wouldn't spoil the mood.

"Christmas came early this year!" He grinned down at her and she couldn't help but laugh.

"I don't think Sammy will agree, someone else getting attention in this house."

"True!"

As if to confirm their statement, Sammy barked from the other side of the door, begging to be let in for a rub. Steve got out of bed with a sigh and let the little guy in, who jumped straight up on the bed and lay his head on Kono's chest. The three of them lay there together for a while, taking their time and enjoying their first relaxing morning in over a week. Sammy was revealing in their undivided attention and his tongue sticking out of his mouth.

ooOoOoOoo

Steve was sitting in one of the deck chairs in the backyard, listening to Kono's voice talking to Sammy coming from their open bedroom window. He was watching the ocean and could not stop smiling, he had been smiling nonstop since this morning. When Kono had confirmed what he had just read on the paper he could feel his heart stop for a second. So many different emotions flashed through his body, it might be what he wanted but he couldn't help but feel scared and elated at the same time.

It was still early days and they had decided not to tell anyone yet but he didn't know if he could contain his happiness till when the others arrived to take him out. Grace had convinced them all to spend the day at the Hilton's and hang out before the pool before they went out to dinner, though he might have rather went to see a football game or something, this actually sounded really good. Laying out in the sun all day, Kono in a bikini and constant service, it couldn't get much better for a relaxing day. But he knew that if got too relaxed and he Danny got into some deep talk it would surely slip out and then Kono wouldn't be too happy with him.

With a glance at the clock on his arm he realised it was time to get out of the chair and get going. Just as he walked inside, Kono came walking down the stairs dressed in an olive green button-up and a pair of shorts on top of her red bikini. Sammy was hot on her tail and ran straight for the door, expecting to tag along.

"Not happening, buddy!" Kono said and shut the front door in his face.

She had gotten a bit tougher with the little pup as he grew, realising that he needed boundaries and not just love. Something Steve was very pleased with, then he didn't have to feel guilty every time he had to remove him from their bed so that he could have Kono to himself.

When they arrived at the Hilton's the guys were already standing there waiting with Grace jumping up and down in excitement and Malia sporting a fast growing belly. She was only four months along but carrying twins so she was already sporting a distinct bump.

"About time!" Danny yelled impatiently as soon as they came within earshot. Grace on the other hand had a little bit more tact than her father. She came running towards Steve, yelling happy birthday before jumping into his arms to give him a hug.

"Happy birthday, Uncle Steve!"

"Thank you, Gracie!"

After all the hellos were over and done with they made their way out to the pool area and hogged some of the lounge-chairs by the poolside. The place was already filled with people and a many of the chairs were already taken, which left Kono without a chair. She started to sweep her eyes over the area, looking for a free chair, but before she could move Steve pulled her down to sit on his lap making her shriek and Grace double over with laughter.

He settled Kono between his legs, not caring of how much she squirmed and protested. Somehow he couldn't find it in himself to stop touching her, he wanted to be close to her at the moment and this was one of his favourite things to do. To lay outside and hold her close. It was something they did almost every day and he wasn't not going to do it just because there were other people around. But his peace didn't last long before Grace dragged Kono with her over to the pool for a swim, leaving Steve with the others.

"So, had a good morning did you?" Danny asked suggestively, earning himself a smack on the head from Chin, if he had not done he would have done it himself.

"As a matter of fact I did! The best actually."

"Oh really?" Danny raised an eyebrow and leaned in closer. "Why is that?"

"None of your business."

"Are you serious right now?" Steve didn't answer, instead he pulled of his shirt and struck up a conversation with Chin and Malia.

He had almost fallen asleep in his chair when he felt something wet drip in his face. One second later a water soaked body lay down on top of him and was followed by a little girls giggling. When he opened his eyes, Grace was sitting on top of her father, having woken him in the same was as Kono had woken him. Kono was currently wringing out her hair, making water pool down his chest. Glaring up at her he grabbed a hold of her hips and pulled her down to his chest so that he could kiss her. He held her to his chest and let the sun warm up her skin and slowly lull them to sleep.

"I love you!" He mumbled against her temple before he succumbed to the darkness.

ooOoOoOoo

Yesterday had been great, first the relaxing day by the pool and then the dinner later on that was very interesting to say the least, Kamekona always had some amusing story to tell. Today it had been back to work and they had barely been in the office for an hour before they got a call about a body. She and Steve had been in the air within fifteen minutes heading over to Maui with Max.

The scene had not been pretty. The victim had not only been shot, someone had then left to him to die in a burning sugarcane field, when he had regained consciousness, already in fire, he had ran out in the middle of the road and been hit by a car. Aiden O'Connell had no strings to Maui except from his shrink who lived there, Olivia Victor, the very same shrink he had called 27 times the previous evening. And she became their first stop.

After hanging up on Chin, she and Steve jumped into their rental car to head over to Olivia Victor's place.

"Is there a reason I am here with you instead of Danny?" It was something that had been on her mind since this morning when they got the call and Steve had said her name as he left instead of Danny's. It didn't matter where the crime scene was, he always went with Danny and she went with Chin, unless one of them were away on some other business. That is why it was so puzzling that he had her tag along with him.

"What?!" He said innocently. "Do I have to have a reason to want to spend time with you?"

"Cut the crap, Steve! We both know that isn't the truth."

"Fine!" He sighed. "I figured that if you were partnered with me I would be able to protect you."

"Protect me?!" She exclaimed. "I have been doing this for three years, Steve! I don't need protection!"

"You're pregnant, Kono!"

The car grew silent as they both pondered their outbursts. For Kono it was still so new being pregnant that she didn't even considered it yet, but knowing Steve and his over protectiveness he would of course think of the fact that she wouldn't be able to throw herself in the crossfire anymore. Though one thing she knew and that was that baby could take more than you thought, she didn't have to sit on a chair in the office for the next eight months. But to convince Steve of that was a thing of its own.

When they arrived at Olivia's they had come to an agreement, if they didn't want everyone to know yet they would have to play it like they always did or Chin and Danny would suspect something. They also agreed that she would have to take it easier from now on and think about what she was doing, therefor mostly working from the office. Neither of them were happy about it, but they could live with it. Steve's mood didn't improve after their talk with Olivia either.

The therapist managed to get under Steve's skin somehow and irked him to no end until he was convinced that she was the murderer. Sure she might not act very innocently but wouldn't you be arrogant and defiant if you were accused of murder for no reason? Kono knew she would be.

But the shit really hit the fan when Steve got served right there in the office. Olivia Victor had taken out a restraining order against Steve, which of course pushed him over the edge and he was out for blood. He was going to have her arrested for this murder if that was the last thing he did. Despite the restraining order he didn't leave her alone, according to Danny he had been stalking her around town all day. And if he had not turned out to be right she would have laughed at him.

When push came to shove, it turned out that a private investigator that had been hired by a suspicious wife had come across more than he first though and used it to found his lifestyle. It turned out that Olivia Victor offered more to her clients than just talking. She was running her own prostitution ring from the office of her practice. No one questioned someone going to see a shrink and paying good money for it, it was the perfect cover-front.

Since the moment they stopped Olivia's taxi at the airport after her diversion, Steve could not stop smirking and it was almost becoming unbearable. They were now at home and he still hadn't stopped.

"If you don't stop smirking your face is going to stay that way. You don't want people to think that you're happy, now do you?"

"But I am happy!" He said and his smirk turned into a genuine smile as he walked over to her. Leaning his forehead against hers, he just looked into her eyes. "You make me really happy, Kono!" He mumbled against her lips before he sealed his words with a kiss that he poured every ounce of feeling into it.


	15. Chapter 15

**So I am back! There has been a great time jump here, onwards to season 4 I believe, partly because I wanted to move the story forward and partly because I kind of love the banter and relationship Steve has with Grover. I like the dynamic and much more like a family they have become, plus it kind of explains Kono's absence from the cases. I hope you won't get too confused. xxLexie**

15.

The insane, blistering heat didn't even face him anymore since his many times in tropical forests and desserts all over the world, but the people around him seemed to be suffering immensely. They were all wearing as little as possible and their skin was glistening from the heat as they lay in the sand and soaked in the sun.

Steve made his way through the sea of shirtless people until he reached the part of the beach he wanted, it was filled with flags, sponsor tents and people with boards. Everywhere he looked there were people in bathing suits holding a board while talking animatedly with one and other. It was quite late in the afternoon and by the excitement in the air they were all waiting for the final heat to wrap up so that they could announce the champion.

Amongst all those unfamiliar faces he was looking for that one. The same face that had kept him going for the last five months and that he had been dreaming about the entire flight here, that soft and beautiful smile that somehow managed to make him feel all warm and tingly inside. He could not understand how a person he had only just met once could evoke so much feelings as she had. But during every phone call they shared it felt as if he had known her for years, and he always felt a little bit better after they hung up. But that face was nowhere to be seen. He had made sure that this was where she would be the minute he had found out that he got to go home for a few days. Two seconds later she was running out of the water, wearing that light blue bikini that he had bought for her when they met in Australia, it looked just as good on her now as it had back then.

She ran up to her friends who stood cheering away from the water and traded her board for a towel to dry off. From their smiles and excited voices he could tell that Kono had done pretty well. Steve was a little disappointed that he had missed her surfing, he had ever only seen her on video-clips online, but the fact that he was even standing here made up for it all. He took a step away from where he was standing, a little hidden from Kono's point of view, and started walking straight towards her, never once taking his eyes off her. It only took a few seconds for her to look up and notice him and before he knew it she was in his arms and he had a face full of hair.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered and clung to him tightly.

"What do you think? I came to see you." He buried his face in her neck and let himself enjoy her lovely scent for a few minutes before pulling back to look into her eyes.

Kono's eyes were so full of life and hope it almost took his breath away, she had been spared from all the horrors that he had witnessed over the years and for that he could be nothing but grateful. To be with a person who had no relation to the dark side of his life was just what he needed. To have someone who could take his mind of it all.

But as he was staring into her brown eyes they slowly transformed into another pair of brown eyes that did not hold the same spirit. Instead they were cunning and filled with this glee that frightened him. Before he knew it he was standing face to face with Ian Wright at Honolulu Airport. Not many people frightened him, but Ian did. The way he spoke, as if the 300 people's lives he was holding in his hands meant nothing to and were just a means to an end for him. He was willing to sacrifice 300 people for him to get his money and get away scot-free, no matter what the cost was.

He could feel how his heart was racing as they waited for Catherine to pick up the phone and tell them they could stop the plane and grab him. They were racing against time and the faster he ran the further away the plan got.

ooOoOoOoo

Steve woke up with a spasm and sat up in the bed, his heart beating a hundred miles per hour. The cool breeze coming in from the open window calmed him down a little and he lay back against the pillow. Turning to his side he watched Kono sleep facing him, the sheet protruding a little more than it used to around her stomach.

She was due any day now. And ever since he and Grover had to work on that case together he could not stop thinking about what kinds of people there were out in the world he was bringing his kid in. He remembered a conversation he had with Danny a couple of years back about how this was not how he wanted Grace to grow up. And now Steve could understand him, it was a very scary thought to bring a child to a world he himself could not understand himself. Like when a twenty year old kid takes 300 people hostage and threatens to dump them in the ocean. It was constantly on his mind, keeping him from having a proper night's sleep and it was wearing him out.

He had not said a word about his worries to Kono. Mainly because he did not want to hear her tell him he was worrying over nothing, that he was being paranoid and could not keep thinking like that. And deep down he knew that he was maybe going a little over the top, they couldn't exactly stop living their lives because something might happen one day. But whenever he watched Kono walk around their backyard, cook in the kitchen or play with Grace while sporting a baby bump, his worries kept resurfacing.

She and their baby was the most precious thing in his life and he could not risk losing them. He didn't like feeling so dependent on someone, but if he lost Kono he was pretty sure he would break for good, there was no coming back from that. He started and ended with Kono, when she came into his life all those years ago she brought something to his life that he had not had before. Something to look forward to at the end of the day, something that brought a real, genuine smile to his face and most importantly a family, somewhere to belong, something he had not had in a really long time. He had never acted like this before when it was just him and Kono. He had believed that Kono was capable of taking care of herself, despite how much he loved and cared for her, but something changed the moment they started a family together. To think that someone might take that away from him made him break out in cold sweat.

Steve moved closer to Kono in the bed and placed one of his arms around her waist while he watched her face as she slept on. Without him registering it, his hand moved away a strand of hair from her face before starting to stroke her cheek, totally forgetting that she was currently a very light sleeper.

"Mhm.." She groaned and nuzzled his hand before snuggling into the pillow again. "Why are you awake?"

To that he didn't respond, instead he just moved even closer and lay his head right next to hers so that they almost touched. "I love you!" He whispered into the darkness and let his hand move back to her stomach.

"I love you too!" She mumbled, clearly not understanding what was going on but too tired to find out.

Steve pulled the covers higher over them and closed his eyes to slowly be lulled back to sleep by the familiar scent that was Kono.


	16. Chapter 16

_Hi guys! So I have a question to you all. Is anyone interested in becoming a proofreader for me? I find myself staring myself blind to my text, I can't seem to find those small mistakes like missing a word here or there in a sentence or a word correcting itself to another word if I write on my iPad. It's those small mistakes that can become quite irritating in the end. So if anyone is interested please send me a PM and we can discuss it further. _

_Enjoy_!

Chapter 16

Today was Thanksgiving and they were all out in the park for the annual family football game. Everyone that Steve considered family was there, either watching on the side-line or participating in the game. Even Captain Grover was there on a request from Steve. They all went into the game wholeheartedly, even Danny that hated anything that involved running, but Steve found himself very easily distracted today.

Sitting in the shadows under some trees with Malia were Kono and their little girl, who had been born almost two weeks ago and Steve could not take his eyes off of them. He had had almost a year to get used to the idea of being a father, ever since the day they decided to start for a family. But now when their daughter was finally here, he realised that it was not something he could have prepared for. The tiny little body evoked so much inside of him and it never seized to amaze him, every time he picked her up it felt as if his heart was going to burst with happiness. Watching the two of them made him feel really grateful.

ooOoOoOoo

_Kono's due date was not for yet another week, but he had nevertheless taken the week off just in case. But of course things never went to plan when it came to him. It was only two days in and he had already been called in for a urgent case that the governor had insisted he should handle personally. Everything was alright with Kono so far, so he did not feel too guilty leaving her but he took his own car just in case instead of riding with Danny. _

_The girl a friend of the Governor had had an affair with, had turned up dead this morning and the Governor called in Steve to handle it as a way to help his friend. And the case turned out to be messier than they first expected. The girl had been three months pregnant when she died and the Governor's friend was the father, which gave him even more motive. Though there were some things that didn't add up. Like the professionalism of the murder. It was too clean to have been a crime of passion. He was just about to jump into the car with Chin when his phone went off and he immediately answered without looking at the screen. _

_"McGarrett!" _

_"Steve!" Came Kono's voice through the phone. _

_"Hey Baby! Is everything okay?" _

_"I think it's time!" _

_"Okay." Steve tried to sound as calm as he could even though he was freaking out inside. He was pretty sure it showed on his face because Chin just grinned at him, obviously not knowing what he was talking about since he was calm itself. "I'll drive home right away and then we can go to the hospital." _

_"No I am already in the car with Malia, she came over after leaving the boys with her parents." _

_"Okay, I'll meet you at the hospital!" _

_With a nod at Chin he ran towards the truck and kept Kono on the phone. He was pretty sure he broke every traffic law there was as he drove over to the hospital, but he got there in under fifteen minutes and just after Kono and Malia. When he arrived at the room Kono was in she was leaning double over the bed and Malia was sitting on a chair in the corner of the room. He walked up towards Kono and was met by a pained but genuine smile. _

_"How are you doing?" He asked softly and started stroking her back like they had learned during one of the courses here at the hospital. _

_"This hurts more than getting shot." She laughed while trying to hold in the pained yell. He wasn't quite sure if what she said was true but he knew better than to argue with her at the moment. Kono had not been very hormonal during the pregnancy but it was never good to antagonize a woman in pain, just look at how Danny acted every time you teased him about his whining. _

_ooOoOoo_

_Eight excruciating hours later Kono was struggling to stay awake as she held their baby girl. Steve was emotionally drained as well but he could not take his eyes off the tiny human, wrapped up in a pink blanket in Kono's arms. The nurse had just gone out to waiting area to get the guys to come meet the newest member of their team. _

_"We did good, didn't we?" He asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed and put his arm around Kono's shoulders. _

_"We did really good." She whispered as peered down at the little bundle with awe in her eyes. _

_Steve was just about to open his mouth again when the door opened and was followed by excited voices. In came Danny and Grace, Chin, Malia and Kath, they all gathered around the bed and Grace sat down on the other side of it to get a closer look of the baby. _

_"What's her name?" Grace asked and moved a little closer. _

_"Kalea" _

_"Your own little Lea!" Chin smiled and both Steve and Kono grinned. Ever since they found out they were having a baby, even before they knew it was a girl, Kono was adamant that the name should be Kalea if it was a girl, there never was another option. She said she wanted a Hawaiian name that could also sound more European if they wanted to and she had always liked the name Lea. Steve knew better than to argue with her and besides it wasn't that bad of a name, "joy" was a perfect name for their little girl. _

ooOoOoOoo

"Babe, are you coming?" Danny yelled from the middle where they all stood huddled, just waiting for him so that they could kick off again.

He was just about to walk over to them when his phone started to make turkey-sounds in his pocket. It was time to make the turkey if they wanted to eat tonight.

"I am sorry guys, I have to go stuff the turkey."

"Come on!" Everyone groaned.

"Can't you just have Mary do the turkey, we are playing football!" Danny whined but Steve just shook his head and waited for Kono to join him so that they could go home and put Lea to bed.

When they walked into the house Kono walked upstairs to feed Lea before putting her down for a while. He started to walk towards the kitchen where he heard a weird buzzing sound. Walking in he spotted Mary trying to thaw the turkey with a hairdryer, but it was to no use, it was ice cold and stone hard.

Mary tried to apologize while coming off as innocently as possible, even trying to blame the whole thing on Joan who was sitting quietly in her chair. He was just about to jump into a rant when he was interrupted by Kono coming into the room with a whimpering Lea.

"Someone didn't want her mom anymore." Kono laughed and handed over Kalea to Steve who happily accepted their daughter. He shushed the little girl and she kept him distracted, but only for a little bit until she lay contently against her father's chest, then he turned back to Mary.

"I knew it was a mistake to make you my prep-cook."

"Then why did you make me your prep-cook?" But before he could retaliate he was interrupted yet again, this time by a knock on the door.

"We are not done here." He said and walked to the front door where someone was knocking impatiently. He pulled the door open and froze when he saw who was standing on the other side.

"There he is! And is this..."

"This is Kalea." He said proudly and lifted up his daughter a little. "Aunt Deb, what are you doing here?" He asked as she took Kalea out of his arms.

"I wanted to spend thanksgiving with my family. It has been a while."

"Well it's good to see you!" He smiled and took Kalea back when she started to whimper again.

"Look at you being a dad, she has already given you some grey hair I see!"

"You like it?" It felt nice to have Aunt Deb here, she had this feel around her that made everyone comfortable and at home in her company, at the same time as she could scare you with her frankness.

"I like it. The tattoos, not so much." He rolled his eyes and watched as she rushed over to Mary and Joan who had joined them. Then came the introduction of Kono as she carefully walked out of the kitchen to stand neck to him, looking nervous.

After Deb had finished fussing over Joan, she slowly turned towards Kono and walked over towards them as she watched Kono up and down. She came to a stop in front of them and stood silent for a moment before a smile spread across her face.

"So this is the famous Kono who's made my nephew this happy." Steve swore he saw Kono blush slightly at Deb's words.

ooOoOoOoo

After Steve had introduced her to Deb he had gotten a call about s case and had to leave, leaving her and Lea alone with Mary and Deb to try and save their Thanksgiving dinner. There was no hope what so ever for the turkey so they did not have any other choice but to try their luck at the shops. But it was of course sold out, you could not expect to find a decent sized turkey on Thanksgiving, it just wasn't possible. So after going to every store on the island they gave up the search and went back home to make the rest of the food.

Overall it had been a nice day. It was fun watching Deb and Mary interact with each other, they had an amazing relationship and it was beautiful to watch. They had so many fun stories to tell, both about Mary growing up but also about Steve. Deb had this frank and honest way of telling the story that made it sound ten times funnier than it probably was.

Right now she and Mary lay out in the backyard with girls and watched Sammy run around. Deb had popped out for a moment to fix something and they decided to take advantage of the quiet house as the girls were entertained. They both were exhausted since they had not gotten much sleep last night. Kono was seconds away from falling asleep when her phone rang inside the house and brought her out of her haze. She ran inside, hoping it wouldn't disturb the girls.

"Steve, what's up?"

"I need you to go and pick up my aunt at the station." Steve sounded really weird, like there was something really wrong bothering him.

"Are you okay?" She asked worriedly.

"Aunt Deb was arrested for drug possession."

"She what?!"

"She's got cancer." He chocked and she could hear how close he was to tears. "They found a tumor in her brain and it is inoperable. She was buying pot for her pain."

"I am so sorry, koa!" She whispered. Looking out through the window she watched Mary play with girls and she couldn't stop tears from falling. They had spent the entire day together, laughing and having a great time. Mary had no idea that the woman that had raised her was slowly dying.

"I promised I would send someone to pick her up since she persisted that she should be booked. Would you do it? Without letting Mary know?"

"Of course! I'll leave right now."

"Thank you!"

"Steve, I love you! It will be alright."

"I love you too!" He said before he hung up, leaving her shocked to the core.

Shaking herself out of her stupor she popped outside to see if Mary was okay to be alone with the girls. When she drove over to the station she tried to collect herself and come up with something good to say so she wouldn't make it too obvious that she knew. Well at the station she had to wait a few minutes before Deb came walking through the glass-doors.

"He told you, didn't he?" She asked with a sad smile.

"I'm sorry!" But Deb wouldn't hear it, she just waved her off. "Come on, let me take you home." She said and started to walk towards the car.

"No, no, I don't want to go home just yet."

"Where do you want to go then?"

"Take me somewhere beautiful." Deb pleaded.

"I've got just the place."

They walked silently towards the car and Kono drove them to the place she had in mind, leaving Deb to her own thoughts who looked like she was in another world. Parking the car she waited for Deb before leading her down the trail until they walked through a clearing and came out on some cliffs with an old wooden bench. This view never failed to take her breath away. You could see the entire coast line from here and all the large buildings. Kono came here every time she wanted to be alone and think.

They sat down on the bench and leaned back to watch the sight. Kono kept quiet and waited for Deb to start talking whenever she felt like she was ready. It was obvious she had had something to say since she found out the Kono knew, but that she was still collecting her thoughts.

"It is truly beautiful here!"

"It is!" She agreed. "After I lost my mentor a couple of years ago, I came out here and sat for hours after the funeral until Steve found me. It is really peaceful."

"You have been through quite a lot together haven't you?" Deb asked and turned to look at her.

They really had, now that she came to think about it. Steve had been there with her for every important aspect of her life. He saw her when she was on the pro-circuit, he was there when she had her accident, when she started the academy and through all the ups and downs with her family. Just as she was there with him when his best friend got killed during a mission, when his father got killed and he returned to Hawaii to found out what happened. She was there through everything with Wo-fat and his hunt after his then not known to be alive mother.

Not only had they seen each other at their worst, they had worked through it all together and its consequences. And they were still here. They were strong and knew that the other was there for them, that wasn't much that could scare either of them away. It was a feeling that could not be described with one word, it was every wonderful and safe feeling you could have all at once. It floored her whenever she really thought about it.

"Yeah we have..." She trailed off and smiled at all the memories.

"I need you to promise me something, Kono." Deb said and looked at her seriously. "I need you to promise me that you will look after Steve and make sure that he's okay. He doesn't let many people in and he doesn't have too many close people in his life, but you seem to have wormed your way into the deepest depth of his heart. Whenever he looks your way there's this smile on his face and it's a smile I have never seen him wear before. I need you to keep him that way, can you do that for me?"

Kono could feel the tears resurfacing again at Deb's words. Steve had not had much luck with his family, thinking they were dead and then one of them came back to life. Even though Doris had stayed on the island for over a year and a half, things were still awkward. Steve tried to let her in more but somehow he couldn't quite get overhear betrayal and how secretive she was acting at times didn't help matters either. Mary talks to her mother at odd times, it could go months before she contacted her. Why? Kono did not know, but she was pretty sure Mary was feeling the same as Steve. They were way too similar at times.

Steve counted her, Mary, Kalea and the team as his family. He either saw or spoke to them somehow every day. But with Doris it was different. It was strained and he couldn't be the same guy he was when he was with them. He was still hard to read some times and he had trouble telling things about himself but it was even worse when it came to Doris. He didn't want to tell her anything really, he didn't trust her at all, but neither of them were doing a thing to change that. So Doris was invited to holidays and they met up for birthdays but that was about it. It was sad but they had created their own family and they were doing just fine the way they were.

"I'll do my best!" She promised and saw that Deb had tears in her eyes as well.

"Good! That's all that I can ask."

ooOoOoOoo

After running over the entire island trying to stop a potential threat to the President, all they wanted to do was eat. But since the girls had not been able to save the dinner they ended up at bar that had been his backup plan. They got entertainment from their very own Frank Sinatra and his aunt Deb and some decent food. Overall they had a really good time, everyone was there and he had taken Danny's advice to not worry about Deb's illness too much and let it ruin maybe their last holiday together.

Kono was sitting next to him and talking to Grace about something while holding Kalea in her arms. And Danny and Grover was Pickering about something or another while Chin just laughed at them. Looking around the room and his family he felt really blessed. He never thought he would have this again after his parents died. But here he was and he had this sneaking suspicion that it was all thanks to the woman sitting next to him. If it wasn't for her, Steve was pretty sure he wouldn't have stuck around too long after his father's funeral. But something held him here and suddenly the idea of starting a life with Kono was more tempting than self-preservation. He was truly thankful that she came into his life.


End file.
